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HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN 



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' Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom 
prepared for you." — Matth. xxv. 34. 



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BALTIMORE: 
Published by John MuRPHY"<^^€fe5f '- 

NEW YORK: 

Catholic Publication Society. 
1871. 



OF CONGRBSS 
WASHDIGKMI 



J S7/ 



Approbations. 

I, Ferdinand Coosemans, Provincial of the Society of Jesus in 
Missouri, in virtue of power granted to me by the Very Reverend 
P. Beckx, Superior General of the same Society, hereby permit 
the publication of a book entitled: "The Happiness of Heaven, 
by a Father of the Society of Jesus ; " the same having been ap- 
proved by the censois appointed by me to revise it. 

St. Louis, Mo., 1 Nov., 1870. F. Coosemans, S. J. 




Liber supradictus, cum a Censoribus 
Nostris fuerit jam probatus, imprimatur. 

f Martinus Joannes, 

Archiep. Baltimor, 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by 

John Murphy & Co., 

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washinglon. 



|}uMi$I}«$' ^xtim 



To The Second Revised Edition. 

It seldom falls to the lot of a Catholic Publisher to issue 
from his press a book, which, while it possesses the true, 
substantial merit of genuine Catholic literature, is at the 
same time graced with the nov^elty, the absorbing interest 
which at once command the attention of the Public, and 
place the book in a high and permanent position before the 
world. Such has been our good fortune in the publication 
of "The Happiness of Heaven'^ — and of this no better 
proof can be required than the unprecedented sale of 3000 
copies, constituting the first edition, in less than sixty days, 
and the constantly increasing demand which already calls 
forth this second edition. Few books have been more warmly 
welcomed by the Press, both Catholic and non-Catbolic, than 
'* The Happiness of Heaven ; " fewer still have proved, in the 
perusal, more worthy of the praises bestowed by Reviewers, 
or have borne out the character which favorable critics had 
assigned. Of this work it maybe said with truth, that the 
highest praise falls short of its merit, the most favorable 
critic has not said too much in its commendation. And 
this promises to be more than an ephemeral popularity — 
the book will live — it will be read with pleasure and profit, 
as long as genuine Catholic literature finds readers. 

It is a book which was long wanted : a thorough, system- 
atic treatise on a subject of the most vital importance : a 
book which gives us all that Catholic Theology teaches about 
heaven, and gives it in an authentic shape, with text, refer- 
ences and citations in all scholastic completeness ; and yet 



iv publishers' preface. 



in a form adapted to the humblest capacity. It is indeed, 
as one of its reviewers so happily calls it, " The spiritual 
Geography of heaven, giving us such a knowledge of that 
blessed country, as we can acquire at this distance," and 
showing forth its beauties, its loveliness, its thousandfold 
bliss in a manner so clear, so winning, so unconquerably 
attractive, that earth pales into insignificance before those 
dazzling splendors, and our hearts long to be where our real 
treasure is. When we have read this book and studied it, 
(for a single perusal of it will not satisfy us,) we know some- 
thing of that heavenly Paradise which is to be the eternal 
abode of the Elect, and knowing it, we must love and desire 
it, — we must submit with patience, if not with joy, to the 
trials of this life, which are to be there so gloriously re- 
warded, — we must sigh for the moment which is to admit 
us into that Paradise of endless delights and of imperish- 
able beaut3% 

Let then this book go forth on its mission of consolation 
and encouragement to the sorrowing and suffering poor: it 
will teach them to prize their sorrows and their afflictions 
as the virgin gold of which their crown is to be formed, and 
the brilliant gems which are to adorn it forever. Let it go 
to the counting-house of the merchant, to the desk of the 
banker — and they will know that there is another and a 
truer wealth, more worthy of their ambition. Let the great 
ones of the earth learn from it that their honors are a deceit 
and a snare; that one sigh for Eternity, one moment spent in 
the service of God, purchase greater glory than all the crowns 
and sceptres of earth can bestow. Let those whose lives are 
consecrated to the task of teaching young hearts to love 
God, of recalling the wanderer to the paths of his duty, of 



PREFACE. V 

battling with the errors of worldly wisdom and the passions 
of the depraved human heart, — let them gather from this 
b.ook not only the motives which will be powerful over the 
souls of men, but also the strength and courage which they 
themselves need in their toils for the good of their neighbor. 
In a word, let all study this precious volume : — Catholics 
and Protestants, the learned and the ignorant, the old and 
the young, the innocent youth still arrayed in the spotless 
garment of his baptismal purity, and the unhappy sinner 
who has grown old in wickedness and whose soul has lost 
almost all hope of peace ; — there is instruction for all, com- 
fort and joy, encouragement and hope for all, if they will 
but make a proper use of such means as God has given 
them, and live here without forgetting that they are des- 
tined for a glorious hereafter. 

We have but a word to add in regard to the present edi- 
tion : — several alterations and improvements have been in- 
troduced into the work by the Author, which enhance its 
value and render it more deserving the patronage it has 

already received. 

The Publishers. 
Baltimore, June 17, 1871. 



irrfaa to t)^z Jirst fbilmtt. 



Many books, owing to their special character, are designed for 
only a small circle of readers. But topics involving general and 
vital interests, deservedly claim the attention of all persons. Such 
is the subject of the present Avork — ''The Happiness of Heaven." 
For who is he that, believing in the existence of that blessed abode, 
does not hope eventually to arrive there ? 

What sublime descriptions do not the Holy Scriptures give us of 
the blessed City of God! Her walls are built of jasper-stone : but 



VI PREFACE. 

the City itself is of pure and shining gold, like to clear crystal glass. 
And the foundations of the City are adorned with all manner of pre- 
cious stones. Her gates are pearls. The very streets are trans- 
parent as glass. This glorious City has no need of the sun or of the 
moon to shine in her ; for the glory of God is her light. 

In the midst of her sits the Ancient of daj'S : ,His garments are 
white as snow: His throne is like flames of fire. Thousands and 
thousands minister unto him, and ten thousand times a hundred 
thousand stand before Him. A river of life-giving water, as clear 
as crystal, whose banks are adorned with the tree of life, issues from 
the throne of God. The Blessed drink of the torrent of pleasure, and 
are inebriated with the plenty of the house of God. All tears are 
wiped away from their eyes : and death shall be no more, nor mourn- 
ing, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be any more, for the former things 
are passed away. 

And, when we are assured that no mortal eye hath seen, nor ear 
heard, nor heart of man conceived the happiness prepared for God's 
children, we must conclude that the magnificent language describ- 
ing the heavenly Jerusalem is only symbolical ; that the Holy Ghost 
speaks of the most precious and beautiful things we know, in order 
to raise our minds to the reality which they faintly represent. 

It has been the aim of the author of the following images to dis- 
cover the meaning concealed under those enticing figures. In his 
exposition of " The Happiness of Heaven," he has endeavored to 
follow the teachings of the most approved theologians of the 
Church. Moreover, mindful that our Divine Model spoke of the 
Kingdom of Heaven in parables, he has laid aside, as far as possible, 
the technical language of the schools, and has replaced it by illus- 
trations, which are better adapted to the capacity of all. 

Should the worshipper of mammon, on perusing these pages, pause 
in his headlong course, to think of " treasures Avhich neither the 
moth nor rust consumes; " should the votary of pleasure be induced 
to sigh after the joys that pass not away ; should the poor, and the 
afflicted of every description, cast a lingering, longing glance toward 
that blessed region where sorrow is unknown; should those who 
have consecrated themselves to God be incited to a greater perfection, 
and to a desire of a higher degree of glory in heaven, the writer will 
deem himself amply rewarded for his labor. 



^ifnitnH, 



CHAPTER PAGB 

I. The Beatific Vision 9 

II. In the Beatific Vision, *'We shall be like 

Him, because we shall see Him as He is." 38 

III. In the Beatific Vision, our Intellect is glo- 

rified, and our Thirst for Knowledge 
completely gratified 59 

IV. In the Beatific Vision, our Will is also to 

be glorified, and then we shall be happy 

in loving and being loved 76 

V. The Beauty and Glory of the Risen Body 93 

VI. The Spirituality of the Risen Body 112 

VII. The Impassibility and Immortality of the 

Risen Body 126 

VIII. Several Errors to be avoided in our Med- 
itations on Heaven 137 

IX. The Life of the Blessed in Heaven 162 

X. Pleasures of the Glorified Senses 184 

XI. Social Joys of Heaven 196 

vii 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER PAGB 

XII. Will the Knowledge that some of our 
own are lost, mar our happiness in 

Heaven? 215 

XIII. The Light of Glory 233 

XIV. Degrees of Happiness in Heaven 249 

XV. Degrees of Enjoyment through the Glori- 
fied Senses 268 

XVI. The Glory of Jesus and Mary 283 

XVII. The Glory of the Martyrs 302 

XVIII. The Glory of the Doctors and Confessors 312 

XIX. The Glory of Virgins and Religious 318 

XX. The Glory of Penitents and Pious People 338 

XXI. The Eternity of Heaven's Happiness 351 




THE 

HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE BEATIFIC YlSIOlvr. 

REASON, revelation, and the ex- 
perience of six thousand years 
unite their voices in proclaiming that 
perfect happiness cannot be found in 
this world. It certainly cannot be 
found in creatures; for thej^ were not 
clothed with the power to give it. It 
cannot be found even in the practice 
of virtue ; for God has, in His wisdom, 



10 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

decreed that virtue should merit, but 
never enjoy perfect happiness in this 
world. He has solemnly pledged him- 
self to give " eternal life " to all who 
love and serve him here on earth. 
He has promised a happiness so un- 
speakably great, that the Apostle, who 
" was caught up into paradise," and 
was favored with a glimpse thereof, 
tells us that mortal "eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it 
entered into the heart of man, what 
things God hath prepared for them 
that love him." * 

This happiness — which is now so 
incomprehensible to us — is none other 
than the possession and enjoyment of 
God himself in the Beatific Vision, 
as well as the perfect satisfaction of 

^1 Cor. xi. 9. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 11 

every rational craving of our nature 
in the glorious resurrection of the 
body. It is on this glorious happiness 
we are going to meditate ; and first, we 
shall endeavor to obtain a definite idea 
of the Beatific Vision, which is the 
essential constituent of heavenly bliss. 
In meditating upon the happiness in 
store for the children of God, we are 
very apt to build up a heaven of our 
own, which naturally takes the shape 
and color which our sorrows, needs, 
and sufferings lend thereto.- The poor 
man, for instance, who has suffered 
much from toil and want, looks upon 
heaven as a place of rest, abounding 
with all that can satisfy the cravings 
of nature. Another, who has often 
endured the pangs of disease, looks 
upon it as a place where he shall enjoy 



12 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

perpetual health of body and mmd. 
Another again, who, in the practice of 
virtue, has had all manner of tempta- 
tions from the devil, the world, and his 
own flesh, delights in viewing heaven 
as a place totally free from temptation, 
where the danger, or even the possi- 
bility of sin, shall be no more. 

All these, and other similar views 
of heaven, are true, inasmuch as they 
represent it as a place entirely free 
from evil and sufifering, and, at the 
same time, as an abode of positisre 
happiness. Nevertheless, they are all 
imperfect views, because not one of 
them takes in the whole of heavenly 
bliss, such as God has revealed it to us. 
They all ignore the Beatific Vision, 
which is the essential happiness of 
heaven. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 13 

But even among those who look 
upon heaven as a place where we 
shall see God, very few indeed under- 
stand what is implied in the vision of 
God. They imagine that we shall 
simply gaze upon an object whose sur- 
passing perfection will make us happy 
in a way which they do not understand. 
These last do not fully comprehend what 
is meant by the Beatific Vision, though 
they view heaven as a place where we 
shall see God. Let us, therefore, en- 
deavor to understand what faith and 
theology teach us concerning the Bea- 
tific Vision. We shall see that it is 
the essential happiness of the blessed 
— which not only fills them with the 
purest and completest satisfaction, but 
that it is, moreover, in virtue of this 
Beatific Vision that they are enabled 



14 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

to enjoy the additional or secondary 
pleasures which cluster around the 
throne of God. 

Theologians divide the happiness of 
heaven into essential and accidental. 
By essential is meant the happiness 
which the soul receives immediately 
from God in the Beatific Vision. By 
accidental are meant the additional 
pleasures or joys which come to the 
blessed from creatures. Thus, when 
our Blessed Lord says : " There shall 
be joy in heaven upon one sinner do- 
ing penance/^ He evidently means a 
new joy, which the blessed did not 
possess until sorrow for sin entered 
that sinner's heart. They were al- 
ready happy in the Beatific Vision, 
and would not have lost the slightest 
degree of their blessedness, even if 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 15 

that sinner had never repented of his 
sins. Still, they experience a new joy 
in his conversion, because therein they 
see God glorified ; and, moreover, they 
have reason to look for an additional 
brother or sister to share their bliss. 
Yet, although the blessed do rejoice in 
the conversion of the sinner, they do 
so in virtue of the Beatific Vision — 
without which they could receive no 
additional pleasure from creatures. 
Therefore the Beatific Vision is not 
only the essential happiness of heaven, 
but it is also that which imparts to the 
saints the power of appropriating all 
the other inferior joys wherewith God 
completes the blessedness of his chil- 
dren. As this is a point of import- 
ance, we shall endeavor to understand 
it more clearly by an illustration. 



16 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

A man who is gifted with perfect 
health of body and mind, not only en- 
joys life itself, but he likewise receives 
pleasure from the beauties of nature — 
from literature, amusements, and so- 
ciety. Now, suppose he loses his health, 
and is thrown on a bed of sickness. 
He is no longer able to enjoy either 
life itself or its pleasures. What is 
all the beauty of earthly or heavenly 
objects to him now ? What are amuse- 
ments, and all the joys of sense, which 
formerly delighted him so much ? All 
these things are now unable to" give 
him any pleasure ; because he has lost 
his health, which afforded him the 
power of appropriating the pleasures 
of life. Therefore, we say that health 
is essentially necessary, not only to 
enjoy life itself, but also to relish its 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 17 

pleasures. So too in heaven. The 
Beatific Vision is necessary not only 
to enjoy the very life of heaven, but 
likewise to enjoy the accidental glory 
wherewith God perfects the happiness 
of his elect. What, then, is this Bea- 
tific Vision ? Is it an eternal gazing 
upon God? Is it an uninterrupted 
"Ah ! " of admiration ? Or is it a sight 
of such overpowering grandeur as to 
deprive us of consciousness, and throw 
us into a state of dreamy inactivity ? 
We shall see. 

"Beatific Vision" is composed of 
three Latin words, beatus^ h^ppy ; fdcio^ 
I make ; and visio, a sight ; all of which 
taken together make up and mean a 
happy-making sight. Therefore, in its 
very etymology. Beatific Vision means 
a sight which contains in itself the 

2* B 



18 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

power of banishing all pain, all sorrow 
from the beholder, and of infusing, in 
their stead, joy and happiness. We 
shall now analyze it, and see wherein 
it consists ; for it is only by doing so 
that we can arrive at the clear idea of 
it, which we are seeking. 

Theologians tell us that the Beatific 
Vision, considered as a perfect and 
permanent state, consists of three acts 
— which are so many elements essen- 
tial to its integrity and perfection. 
These are, first, the sight or vision of 
God ; secondly, the love of God ; and 
thirdly, the enjoyment of God. These 
three acts, though really distinct from 
each other, are not separable ; for, if 
even one of them be excluded, the 
Beatific Vision no longer exists in its 
integrity. We shall now say a few 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 19 

words on each of these constituents of 
heavenly bliss. 

1. First, the sight or vision of God 
means that the intellect — which is the 
noblest faculty of the soul — is sud- 
denly elevated by the light of glory, 
and enabled to see God as He is, by a 
clear and unclouded perception of his 
Divine Essence. It is, therefore, a 
vision in which the soul sees God, face 
to face ; not indeed with the eyes of the 
body, but with the intellect. For God 
is a Spirit, and cannot be seen with 
material eyes. And if our bodily eyes 
were necessary for that vision, we 
could not see God until the day of 
judgment ; for it is only then that our 
eyes will be restored to us. Hence, it 
is the soul that sees God; but then, she 
sees Him more clearly and perfectly 



20 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

than she can now see anything with 
her material eyes. 

This vision of God is an intellectual 
act by which the soul is filled to over- 
flowing with an. intuitive knowledge of 
God ; a knowledge so perfect and com- 
plete that all the knowledge of Him 
attainable, in this world, by prayer and 
study, is like the feeble glimmer of the 
lamp compared to the dazzling splendor 
of the noonday sun. 

This perfect vision, or knowledge of 
God, is not only the first essential ele- 
ment of the Beatific Vision, but it is, 
moreover, the very root or fountain- 
head of the other acts which are neces- 
sary for its completeness. Thus we 
say of the sun that he is the source of 
the light, heat, life, and beauty of this 
material world ; for, if he were blotted 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 21 

out from the heavens, this now beauti- 
ful world would, in one instant, be left 
the dark and silent grave of every 
living creature. This is only a faint 
image of the darkness and sadness 
which would sei^e upon the blessed, 
could we suppose that God would at 
any time withdraw from them the 
clear and unclouded vision of Him- 
self. Therefore, we say, that the 
vision of the Divine Essence is the root 
or source of the Beatific Vision. 

Yet, although this is true, it does 
not follow that the vision of the Divine 
Essence constitutes the whole Beatific 
Vision; for the human mind cannot 
rest satisfied with knowledge alone, 
how perfect soever it may be. It must 
also love and enjoy the object of its 
knowledge. Therefore, the vision of 



22 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

God produces the two other acts which 
we shall now briefly consider.* 

2. The second element of the Bea- 
tific Vision is an act of perfect and in- 
expressible love. It is the sight or 
knowledge of God as He is, that pro- 
duces this love ; because it is impossible 
for the soul to see God in his divine 
beauty, goodness, and unspeakable love 
for her, without loving Him with all 
the power of her being. It "were 
easier to go near an immense fire and 

• "^Dico 1. Essentiam beatitudinis formalis primo ac 
principaliter consistere in clara Dei visione, in qua, 
quasi in fonte ac radice tota beatitudinis perfectio 
continetur. Est enim praecipua ac perfectissinia ani- 
mae operatic in ratione consecutionis finis ultimi, et 
immediate cum ipsius conjunctione, ac forma essen- 
tialiter distinguens statum beatum a non beato. . . . 
Tamen, dice 2 : Amor charitatis et amicitiae divinae est 
simpliciter necessarius, ut homo sit supernaturalitei 
perfects beatus : atque ita absolute est de ipsius bea 
titudinis essentia. — Suarez de Beat. Disput. 7. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 23 

not feel the heat, than to see God in 
His very essence, and yet not be set on 
fire with divine love. It is, therefore, 
a necessary act ; that is, one which the 
blessed could not possibly withhold, as 
we now can do in this world. For, with 
our imperfect vision of God, as He is 
reflected from the mirror of creation, 
we can, and unfortunately do with- 
hold our love from him — even when 
the light of faith is superadded to the 
knowledge we may have of him from 
the teachings of nature. Not so in 
heaven. There, the blessed see God 
as He is ; and therefore, they love 
him spontaneously, intensely, and su- 
premely. 

3. The third element of the Beatific 
Vision is an act of excessive joy, which 
proceeds spontaneously from both the 



24 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

vision and the love of God. It is an 
act by which the soul rejoices in the 
possession of God, who is the Supreme 
Good. He is her own God, her own 
possession, and in the enjoyment of 
Him her cravings for happiness are 
completely gratified. Evidently, then, 
the Beatific Vision necessarily includes 
the possession of God ; for without it, 
this last act could have no existence, 
and the happiness of the blessed would 
not be complete, could we suppose it to 
have existence at all. A moment's 
reflection will make this as evident as 
the light of day. 

A beggar, for instance, gazes upon a 
magnificent palace, filled with untold 
wealth, and all that can gratify sense. 
Does the mere sight of it make him 
happy? It certainly does not, because 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 25 

it is not, and never can be his. He 
may admire its grand architecture and 
exquisite workmanship, and thus re- 
ceive some trifling pleasure ; but, as 
he can never call that palace nor its 
wealth his own, the mere gazing upon 
it, and even loving its beauty, can never 
render him happy. For this, the pos- 
session of it is essential. 

Again, the starving beggar gazes 
upon the rich man's table loaded with 
every imaginable luxury. Does that 
mere sight relieve the pangs of hunger ? 
It certainly does not. It rather adds 
to his wretchedness, by intensifying his 
hunger, without satisfying its crav- 
ings. Even so would it be in heaven, 
could we suppose a soul admitted there, 
and allowed to gaze upon the beauty 
of God, Awhile she cannot possess or 



26 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

enjoy Him. Such a sight would be no 
Beatific Vision for her. The posses- 
sion of God is, therefore, absolutely 
necessary in order that the soul may 
enjoy Him, and rest in him as her last 
end. Hence, the act of seeing God is 
also the act by which the blessed pos- 
sess God, and enter into the joy of their 
Lord.* 

But this is not yet all. We have 
been considering the acts by which the 
soul appropriates God to herself; mean- 
while, we must not forget that the 
active concurrence of God is as essen- 

■^ Si generatim loquamur, yeriim est quod visio, ut 
visio, non sit possessio. Nam visio, ut sic, solum dicit 
claram cognitionem objecti visi. Possessio autem 
significat habere et tenere objectum, eo modo, quo 
natum est haberi et teneri. Jam vero, quia Deus noD 
aliter potest a nobis haberi et teneri quam per 
visionem, ideo fit, ut visio sortiatur nomen et officium 
possessionis respectu Dei. — Becanus, de Beat, qusest. 8. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 27 

tial in the Beatific Vision as the action 
of the creature. The Beatific Vision 
means, therefore, that God not only 
enables the soul to see Him in all his 
surpassing beauty, but also that he 
takes her to his bosom as a beloved 
child, and bestows upon her the happi- 
ness which mortal eye cannot see. It 
means, furthermore, that God unites 
the soul to Himself in so wonderful 
and intimate a manner, that, without 
losing her created nature or personal 
identit}^, she is transformed into God, 
according to the forcible expression 
of St. Peter, when he asserts that we 
are " made partakers of the divine 
nature.'"^ This is the highest glory 
to which a rational nature can be ele- 
vated, if we except the glory of the 

- 2 Pet. i. 4. 



28 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

hypostatic union and the maternity 
of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

In explaining this partaking of the 
divine nature in heaven, theologians 
make use of a very apt comparison. 
If, say they, you thrust a piece of iron 
into the ifire, it soon loses its dark 
color, and becomes red and hot, like 
the fire. It is thus made a partaker 
of the nature of fire, without, however, 
losing its own essential iron -nature. 
This illustrates what takes place in 
the Beatific Vision in relation to the 
soul. She is united to God, and pene- 
trated by Him. . She becomes bright 
with His brightness, beautiful with 
His beauty, pure with His puritj^, 
happy with His unutterable happiness, 
and perfect with His divine perfec- 
tions. In a word, she has become a 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 29 

partaker of the " divine nature/' while 
she retains her created nature and 
personal identity. 

Abstract words, however, and rea- 
soning fail to convey a definite idea of 
this glorious happiness reserved for 
the children of God. Let us, there- 
fore, have recourse to an illustration 
in the shape of a little parable. It 
will be as a mirror, wherein we shall 
see faint but true reflections of the 
Beatific Vision. 

A kind-hearted king, while hunting 
in a forest, finds a blind orphan boy, 
totally destitute of all that can make 
life comfortable. The king, moved 
with compassion, takes him to his 
palace, adopts him as his own, and 
orders him to be cared for and edu- 
cated in all that a blind person can 

3* 



30 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

learn. It is almost needless to say 
that the boy is unspeakably grateful, 
and does all he can to please the king. 
When he has reached his twentieth 
year, a surgeon performs an operation 
upon his eyes by which his sight is re- 
stored. Then the king, surrounded by 
his nobles and amid all the pomp and 
magnificence of the court, proclaims 
him one of his sons, and commands all 
to honor and love him as such. And 
thus the once friendless orphan be- 
comes a prince, and, therefore, a par- 
taker of the royal dignity, of the 
happiness and glory which are to be 
found in the palaces of kings. 

I will not attempt to describe the 
joys that overwhelm the soul of this 
fortunate young man when he first 
sees that king, of whose manly beauty, 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEX. 31 

goodness, power, and magnificence he 
had heard so much. Nor will I at- 
tempt to describe those other joys 
which fill his soul when he beholds 
himself, his own personal beauty, and 
the magnificence of his princely gar- 
ments, whereof he had also heard so 
much heretofore. Much less will I 
attempt to picture his exquisite and 
unspeakable happiness when he sees 
himself adopted into the royal family, 
honored and loved by all, together 
with all the pleasures of life within 
his reach. Each one may endeavor to 
imagine his feelings, joy, and happi- 
ness. We can only say that all this 
taken together is a beatific vision for 
him — in the natural order. 

Here we find the three acts already 
explained. The first is the sight of the 



32 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

good king in all his glory and magnifi- 
cence ; the second is the intense love 
which this sight produces ; and the 
third is the enjoyment of the icing's 
society, and all the happiness where- 
with his adoption has surrounded him. 
The application of the parable is 
obvious. God is the great and rnighty 
King who finds your soul in the wilder- 
ness of this world. To use the forcible 
words of Scripture, He found you 
" wretched, and miserable, and poor, 
and blind, and naked." /^ Moved with 
compassion, He brought you into his 
holy Church. There, He washed you 
with his own precious blood, clothed 
you with the spotless robe of innocence, 
adorned you with the gifts of grace, 
and adopted you as his own child. 

^ Apoc. iii. 17. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 33 

Then He commanded his ministers 
and others to educate you for heaven. 
By His grace, and your own co-opera- 
tion, your soul is being gradually de- 
veloped into a more perfect resem- 
blance to Jesus Christ, who, in His 
human nature, is the standard of 
all created perfection. But you are 
blind yet, and must remain so until 
your Heavenly Father calls you home. 
When that happy day dawns, you will 
leave this world ; your eyes w^ill be 
opened by the light of glory, and you 
will see God as He is, in all his 
glory and magnificence. You will also 
see yourself as you are, adorned with 
the jewels of the many graces He has 
bestowed upon you. You will also see 
the beautiful angels and saints, clothed 
with the beauty of God himself, stand- 



34 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

ing around his throne to hear the 
sentence that is to admit you into their 
society. This sight of the Living God, 
and of all the magnificence which sur- 
rounds Him, will fill your soul with a 
perfect knowledge of him ; and this 
knowledge will produce a most ardent 
and perfect love; and when he presses 
you to his bosom, proclaims you one 
of his children, and commands all to 
honor and love you as such, your joy 
will be full. This will be emphatically 
a Beatific Vision for you. You will 
then enter into the possession and 
enjoyment of God, who alone can 
fill the soul with pure and permanent 
happiness. 

We shall now close this chapter with 
a beautiful extract from the great theo- 
logian Lessius. Speaking of the three 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 35 

acts which constitute the Beatific Vision, 
he says : " In these three acts resides 
God's chief est glory, which He him- 
self intended in all his works ; and so, 
likewise, in these same acts reside the 
highest good and formal beatitude of 
men and angels. By these acts the 
blessed spirits are vastly elevated above 
themselves, and, in their union with 
God, become godlike, by a most lofty 
and supereminent similitude with God, 
so that the mind can conceive no 
greater. Thus, like very gods, they 
shine to all eternity in the divine 
brightness. By these same acts they 
expand themselves into immensity, so 
as to be co-equal and co-extensive, as 
far as may be, to so great a good, that 
they may take it in, and comprehend 
it all. They linger not outside, as it 



36 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

were upon the surface of it ; but they 
go down into its profound depths, and 
enter into the joy of their Lord ; some 
more, some less, according to the mag- 
nitude of the light of glory imparted 
to each. Immersed in this abyss, they 
lose themselves, and all created things; 
for all other good and joys seem to 
them as nothing by the side of this 
ocean of good and joys. In this abyss 
there is to them no darkness, no ob- 
scurity, such as now hangs over us 
about the Divinity ; but all is light 
and immense serenity. There are their 
eternal mansions, with a tranquil se- 
curity that they can never fail. There 
is the fulfilling of all their desires. 
There is the possession and enjoyment 
of all things that are desirable. There 
nothing will remain to be longed for, 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEIS. 37 

or sought for any more; for all will 
firmly possess and exquisitely enjoy 
every good thing in God. There the 
occupation of the saints will be to con- 
template the infinite beauty of God, to 
love His infinite goodness, to enjoy his 
infinite sweetness, to be filled to over- 
flowing with the torrent of his pleas- 
ures, and to exult with an unspeak- 
able delight in his infinite glory, and 
in all the good things which he and 
they possess. Hence comes perpetual 
praise, and benediction, and thanks- 
giving; and thus the blessed, having 
reached the consummation of all their 
desires, and knowing not what more to 
crave, rest in God as their last end." * 

^ De Perf. Divin. lib. xiv. c. 5. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE BEATIFIC VISION. 

(continued.) 

IN the Beatific Vision, " we shall be 
like Him; because we shall see 
him as he is." ^ 

In the preceding chapter, we have 
endeavored to understand the meaning 
of the Beatific Vision. We have seen 
that it is not a mere gazing upon God, 
but a true possession and enjoyment of 
Him. We have seen, moreover, that 
the Beatific Vision implies a most inti- 
mate union with God, in which the 

*lJohniii. 2. 

88 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 39 

soul is made a partaker of the " Divine 
Nature/' in a far higher degree than is 
attainable in this world. 

But we must be careful not to con- 
found this union of the soul with God, 
which is a moral union, with a per- 
sonal union, such as exists between the 
humanity and the divinity in Jesus 
Christ. For, in Him, though these 
two natures are distinct, they are not 
separable. The human nature is so 
intimately united to the divine, that it 
receives its personality from the eter- 
nal Son of God. Hence, we cannot 
say that Jesus Christ is one Person as 
man, and another Person as God, thus 
asserting two distinct Persons in Christ. 
This would be a heresy, long since 
condemned by the Church. In Him, 
therefore, there is but one Person, and 



40 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

that Person is the eternal Son of God, 
in whom the human nature has not a 
distinct personality of its own. This 
is called a personal or hypostatic union, 
which belongs to Jesus Christ alone, 
and constitutes Him the Lord of lords, 
the King of kings, and the Judge of 
the living and the dead. No other 
creature, not even the Blessed Virgin, 
can ever aspire to such a union with 
God. When, therefore, we speak of 
our intimate union with God in the 
Beatific Vision, we understand a moral 
union, and not a physical or a personal 
one. Hence, however intimate our 
union with God may be, we shall 
always retain our personality, and 
never be merged into God. 

In this world, how intimate soever 
may be the union which exists between 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 41 

frieud and friend, parent and cliild, 
husband and wife, these persons all 
retain their respective personalities. 
So shall it be in heaven. We shall 
see and possess God ; we shall be united 
to Him in an intimate manner, but we 
shall ever retain our distinct personal- 
ity and individuality. When a drop 
of water falls into the ocean, it is ab- 
sorbed and completely lost in that im- 
mense volume of water. This is no 
type of our union with God. But the 
drop of oil is such a type ; for while it 
floats on the bosom of the deep, it does 
not mingle with the water, nor lose its 
individuality. It remains a drop of 
oil. 

Not only shall we thus retain our 
personality, when united to God in the 
Beatific Vision, but we shall, moreover, 

4* 



42 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

retain all that belongs to the reality of 
human nature. For, as St. Thomas 
teaches, " the glory of heaven does 
not destroy nature; but perfects it."* 
Therefore, when Scripture tells us that 
"we shall be changed," we must not 
imagine that we shall be changed into 
angels, or into some other nature dif- 
ferent from the human. The change 
means a supernatural elevation and 
perfection of our whole nature, and 
not its destruction. The transition or 
change of the child into the man 
neither changes nor destroys the facul- 

* Quamdiu manet natura aliqua, manet operatic 
ejus. Sed beatitude non tollit naturam, cum sit per- 
fectio ejus. Ergo non toilet naturalem cognitionem 
et dilectionem. . . . Semper autem oportet salvari 
primum in secundo. Und^ oportet quod natura sal- 
vetur in beatitudine. Et similiter quod in actu beati- 
tudinis salvetur actus naturae. — 4S'. Thomas, p. 1, q. 
62, art, 7. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 43 

ties of Ms mind nor the senses of his 
body ; neither does it create new powers 
or faculties which he had not before. 
His gradual growth into manhood only 
develops and perfects what the hand 
of God h^d placed in his nature on the 
day of his creation. 

This gradual development of our 
nature to its perfection, in the natural 
order, illustrates the wonderful super- 
natural perfection which the power of 
God will work in us both in the Bea- 
tific Vision and in the glorious resur- 
rection of the body. For, however 
great and elevated we may then be, 
our now existing natural powers will 
neither be changed nor destroyed. 

I have been thus careful in explain- 
ing these things, because we are now to 
study the transforming power of the 



44 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Beatific Vision upon the soul, as well 
as the glory of the spiritualized body 
in which we shall again be clothed on 
the resurrection day. 

According to the angelic doctor, the 
human soul bears a threefold resem- 
blance to God.* She is like God by 
nature, by grace, and by glory. The 
likeness to God by nature is found in 
all men, but is imperfect. The like- 

* . . . . Imago Dei tripliciter potest considerari in 
homine. Uno quidem modo secundum quod homo 
habet aptitudinem naturalem ad intelligendum et 
amandum Deum. Et hsec aptitudo consistit in ipsa 
natura mentis, quae est communis omnibus hominibus. 
Alio modo secundum quod actu vel habitu Deum cog- 
noscit et amat, sed tamen imperfecta. Et haec est 
imago per conformitatem gratise. Tertio modo secun- 
dum quod homo Deum actu cognoscit et amat perfect^. 
Et attenditur imago secundum similitudinem glorise. 
Prima ergo invenitur in omnibus hominibus. Secunda 
vero in justis tantum. Tertia vero solum in beatis. — 
S. Thomas, p. 1, q. 93, art. 4. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 45 

ness by grace is far more perfect, and 
is found in the just only; while it is 
seen in its full perfection in the blessed. 
We shall, therefore, endeavor to fathom 
the meaning of St. John, when he says, 
"We shall be like Him: because we 
shall see him as he is ; " as well as 
the saying of St. Peter, who asserts 
that we shall be " made partakers of 
the divine nature." Let us begin by 
a little illustration. 

Suppose you enter an artist's studio, 
just as he has drawn the outlines of a 
portrait. All the essential features are 
there — the shape of the head, the eyes, 
ears, mouth, and whatever else is neces- 
sary to constitute the human face ; and 
it already bears a striking resemblance 
to the man who is sitting for his por- 
trait. You return in a few days, and. 



46 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

though it is yet far from being finished, 
the coloring has added so much that it 
is far more beautiful and perfect than 
when you first saw it. Again, you 
see it when it is completely finished, 
framed, and exposed to public view. 
How perfect ! how life-like it is ! It 
actually seems to live and breathe. 
How vast a difierence between this 
exquisitely finished painting and the 
mere outlines you first saw ! This 
illustration teaches us, better than ab- 
stract words could do, how the human 
soul is like God from the very first, 
and how that likeness gradually in- 
creases by grace and the practice of 
virtue, until it receives the last touch 
and finish in the Beatific Vision. 

From the very first moment of her 
existence, the soul is like to God, be- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 47 

cause she is a spirit, and therefore 
immortal. She is endowed with intel- 
ligence, free-will, memory, and what- 
' ever else belongs to a spiritual sub- 
stance. Evidently, this is already the 
image of God, though, compared with 
what it will be by grace and the Bea- 
tific Vision, it is as yet nothing more 
than the mere outlines. 

Next comes baptism, by which the 
soul is raised to the supernatural state. 
She is washed with the blood of Jesus, 
and clothed with the robe of innocence, 
which, if we may use the expression, 
begins the coloring or beautifying pro- 
cess. Faith, hope, and charity are 
infused into her, by which she is en- 
abled to lead a supernatural life. Then 
come other sacraments, which have for 
their object to wash away stains, re- 



48 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

move imperfections, and to nourish, 
strengthen, beautify, and gradually de- 
velop a greater resemblance to God. 

But there is an immense difference 
between the senseless image we saw on 
the canvas and the soul. The portrait 
is a lifeless image, which is totally pas- 
sive, and has, therefore, nothing what- 
ever to do with its gradual growth and 
its resemblance to the original. Not 
so^with the soul. She is a living and 
rational image of the eternal God, and 
has the power to aid very materially 
in her gradual development, and in her 
greater resemblance to the original — 
which is God. Not only has she the 
power, but also the strict obligation of 
co-operating with God, in perfecting 
what He began without her co-oper- 
ation Hence, while of herself she is 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 49 

incapable of having even a good 
thought, aided by the grace of God 
she not only has good thoughts and 
desires, but also the strength to carry 
them into effect. With God's assist- 
ance, she can and does reproduce in 
herself the virtues which Jesus taught 
and practised — His humility, purity, 
meekness, obedience, patience, and 
resignation to God's will. Especially 
does she reproduce His life of love — 
love for God and love for man. 

As soon as this divine charity be- 
comes the mainspring of her actions, 
everything she does develops in her a 
greater resemblance to God. Then, 
not only prayer, the sacraments, pious 
reading, and other spiritual exercises, 
but voluntary mortifications, tempta- 
tions from the devil, the world, and the 

5 D 



50 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

flesh — even eating, drinking, and inno- 
cent recreations — all help powerfully 
to develop and perfect in her the image 
of God. For, as St. Paul tells us, "To 
them that love God, all things work 
together unto good." ^ 

Could you now see a soul at the first 
moment of her existence, you would see 
the image of God begun. Could you 
see her again immediately after bap- 
tism, she would appear far more beau- 
tiful; because she is then clothed with 
the robe of innocence and beautified by 
the grace of God. But could you see 
that same soul after ten, twenty, or 
more years of a holy life, you could 
scarcely believe that it is the same soul 
— so much more God-like and beauti- 
ful has she become. But again, could 

^Rom. viii. 28. 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 51 

you see hei united to God in the Bea- 
tific Vision, you would be so over- 
powered with her dazzling splendor 
and unearthly beauty, that you would 
be ready to fall down and adore her — 
thinking that it is God himself you 
see, and not his image. She would 
have to prevent this adoration, by as- 
suring you that whatever excellence 
you behold in her is, after all, that of a 
mere creature. This is what happened 
even to St. John, who had already 
seen so many and such wonderful 
visions. When the bright angel stood 
before him, to reveal the secrets of 
God, he says : "And I fell down before 
his feet to adore him. But he saith to 
me: See thou do it not: I am thy fel- 
low-servant, and of thy brethren, who 
have the testimonv of Jesus. Adore 



52 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

God."* St. Augustine says that ''the 
angel was so beautiful and glorious that 
St. John actually mistook him for God, 
and would really have given him di- 
vine worship, had not the angel pre- 
vented it by declaring who he was." 

From all this, we begin to see what 
St. John means when he tells us that 
we shall be like God, " because we shall 
see Him as he is." Our likeness to 
God was begun on the very first day 
of our existence. It was gradually de- 
veloped by God's grace and the sacra- 
ments ; and by our own co-operation 
with all the helps of God. But during 
life, the process of development was 
slow — so very slow, that we were at 
times tempted to think it had ceased 
altogether. But in the Beatific Vision 

■^Apoc. xiv. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 53 

the process is rapid as a flash. The 
soul is suddenly transformed into that 
degree of likeness to God which she 
has deserved by a holy life. She is 
made like to God, because she sees Him 
as he is. It is this glorious vision 
which contains in itself this transform- 
ing power, and which assimilates the 
soul to God. 

In this world a deformed man may 
gaze upon a beautiful object without 
becoming beautiful thereby; the poor 
man gazes upon the rich man, but re- 
mains as poor as ever ; and the igno- 
rant man gazes upon the philosopher, 
and nevertheless remains as ignorant 
as before. Not so in heaven. The 
vision of God has a transforming 
power; that is, it has the power of com- 
municating to the beholder attributes 



54 THE HAPx>I]SESS OF HEAVEN. 

which he had not before, or possessed 
only in the germ. Thus the soul, be- 
cause she sees God as He is, is filled to 
overflowing with all knowledge ; she 
becomes beautiful with the beauty 
of God, rich with his wealth, holy 
with his holiness, and happy with 
his own unutterable happiness. In a 
word, by the vision of God, she is 
made a partaker of the divine nature, 
and, like a very god, she shines unto 
all eternity in the divine brightness. 

A diamond, carefully cut and per- 
fectly polished, glitters and shines in 
the sun with exceeding brilliancy. It 
not only reflects the light, but also ab- 
sorbs it into itself, so as to shine even 
in the dark with the light it has ab- 
sorbed. It actually becomes, as it were, 
a little sun, shining with its own light. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 55 

It is thus become a partaker of the 
sun's nature, while it retains its own 
peculiar diamond nature and individ- 
uality. This is an image of what takes 
place in the Beatific Vision. While 
she was in this world, God had pol- 
ished that soul, by the sacraments and 
by sufferings; and now that she is in 
His presence, and sees him as he is, she 
shines and sparkles in his light with 
unspeakable splendor. She reflects 
and absorbs the divine light and beauty 
of God. She is like God, because she 
sees Him as he is; she is made a par- 
taker of the divine nature, while she 
retains her own human nature and 
personal identity. 

But, let us again hear Lessius. 
Speaking of this communication of the 
divine nature to man, he says : " This 



56 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

communication begins in this life, by the 
gifts of grace, especially faith, hope, and 
charity. By these virtues we are not 
only made like to God, but God is also 
united to us. It is perfected, however, 
in the next life by the gifts of glory — 
namely, the light of glory, the vision 
of the Divinity, beatific love, and bea- 
tific joy. For, by these, we attain our 
highest similitude to God, and become 
perfectly sons of God, shining like the 
Divinitj^, and exhibiting in ourselves 
the most excellent image of the most 
Holy Trinity. For by the light of 
glory we are made like the Father; by 
the vision of the Divine Essence and 
the Divine Persons, we become like the 
Son ; by beatific love we are made like 
the Holy Ghost; by joy we become 
like the Godhead in beatitude, and 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 57 

thus the participation of the divine 
beatitude is completed in us.'"^ 

Now, Christian soul, meditate well 
on all this. Endeavor to fathom the 
bliss of the saints when they see them- 
selves like God in so eminent a degree. 
Kemember that you were created to 
enjoy the unspeakable happiness of see- 
ing God, and of being made a partaker 
of the divine nature. But remember, 
too, that God, who created you without 
your co-operation, will not save you 
without it. He never will polish your 
soul into a jewel fit for heaven, in spite 
of yourself. You must, therefore, co- 
operate with Him, and do his holy will 
in all things. However painful may 
be the trials He sends you, they are all 
so many strokes to take away some 

■^De Perf. Diviu., lib. xiv. c. I. 



58 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

rougliness or deformity which would 
prevent your soul from being perfectly 
like Him. Every act you perform, 
while in the state of grace, adds a new 
feature of beauty to your soul, and 
therefore prepares her the better to 
receive the finishing touch in the Bea- 
tific Vision, and to shine with greater 
splendor as a perfect image of the liv- 
ing God. 




CHAPTER III. 

THE BEATIFIC VISION. 

(COXTIXUED.) 

IN the Beatific Vision our intellect 
is glorified, and our thirst for 
knowledge completely satisfied. 

Man was created with a thirst for 
knowledge which can never be satiated 
in this world. Sin, which greatly- 
weakened and darkened his mental 
faculties, has not taken away his desire 
and love for knowledge. And the 
knowledge which he acquired by eat- 
ing the forbidden fruit, rather in- 
creased than satisfied his thirst. 

But all his efforts to reach the per- 

59 



60 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

fection of knowledge, even in the 
natural order, have been fruitless. 
With all his boasted discoveries in 
astronomy, chemistry, geology, me- 
chanics, and other kindred sciences, 
his knowledge of nature's secrets is 
still very limited. But could he even 
master every natural science, and com- 
pel nature to reveal her most hidden 
secrets, his thirst for knowledge would 
still remain unsatisfied. 

Let us, for the sake of illustration, 
suppose a man so gifted that he not 
only knows all that can be known 
about this world, but soars beyond it, 
and learns the exact size, distances, 
laws, and relations to each other of 
the countless worlds that shine in the 
blue sky. Supposing these distant orbs 
to be peopled like ours, he knows the 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 61 

character, manners, laws, and lan- 
guages of tlieir respective inhabitants. 
He knows, moreover, all their sciences, 
the characters of their plants, animals, 
and minerals. In a word, he sees and 
knows every star as perfectly as he 
knows his own house and its inmates. 
What vast knowledge would not that 
man possess ! He would certainly be 
far more learned than all the philoso- 
phers that ever lived, taken together. 
But would his thirst for knowledge be 
completely quenched ? Would he say 
that his mind is so completely full that 
he can long for no more, or that it 
can contain no more? No, he could 
never say that ; for the knowledge of 
the creature alone can never completely 
fill or satisfy the mind. 

We are little, and very limited, it is 



62 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

true, and if we are aiming at Christian 
perfection, we are accustomed to look 
upon ourselves as such. And the 
oftener we compare our borrowed per- 
fections with those of God, the more 
deeply convinced of our littleness shall 
we become. But yet, how little soever 
we may be, we have, in a certain sense, 
capacity for the infinite; and for it, only 
the infinite is sufficient. Hence, as all 
the wealth of this world could never 
make any man perfectly happy, so 
neither could the perfect knowledge 
of every creature perfectly satisfy his 
cravings after knowledge. The one is 
as finite as the other, and consequently 
neither could do that for which the in- 
finite, alone is sufficient. 

Yet this is not all. Not only is the 
full knowledge of the whole natural 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 63 

order incapable of satisfying man's 
desire for knowledge ; but not even all 
the knowledge of God, and of the 
supernatural order, so far as they can 
be known in this world by faith and 
theology, ever did or ever could make 
a man say, It is enough ; I ask for no 
more. Indeed, the very reverse takes 
place. For if there be any knowledge 
that intensifies thirst for more, it is 
precisely the imperfect knowledge of 
God we have by faith and the contem- 
plation of Him in his creatures. 

Theologians have studied and learned 
much ; they have thrown much light 
on the dark mysteries of revelation ; 
yet what they know is only as a drop 
in the boundless ocean of God's un- 
fathomable being. With all the vast 
knowledge of God which they have 



64 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

acquired, they are still constrained to 
cry out with St. Paul : " Oh, the depth 
of the riches of the wisdom and of the 
knowledge of God ! How incompre- 
hensible are His judgments, and how 
unsearchable His ways ! " "^ Do what 
we may, read the Holy Scriptures, 
study, pray, meditate ; we never can 
see and know God as He is, so long as 
we remain pilgrims in this world. The 
saying of St. Paul will ever remain 
true : " We now see through a glass in 
a dark manner ; " f that is, imperfectly 
and unsatisfactorily. 

In the original Greek, St. Paul uses 
the word mirror, which is also the 
word used in the Latin Vulgate, " per 
speculum;" that is, by means of a 
mirror. The meaning, therefore, of St. 

^ Rom. xi. 13. t 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 65 

Paul is not that we see through a glass 
by transmitted light, as when we look 
through a telescope, but as when we 
see an image reflected in a mirror. 
Let us suppose a man so circumstanced 
in this world that he has never seen 
the sun, nor his light, except as re- 
flected in the moon. He has heard of 
his immense size, and his bewildering 
distance from us; of his dazzling 
splendor, and keen, life - imparting 
power, whereby he gives life, growth, 
and beauty to every living thing. To 
this man, the moon is a mirror wherein 
the sun is imperfectly reflected ; and, 
though he is unable to see the sun 
himself, he judges from the splendor 
and beauty of the moon that he must 
be grand, glorious, and magnificent 
beyond the power of words to express. 

G^ • E 



66 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

This illustrates the meaning of St. 
Paul when he says that we now see 
God by means of a mirror. All crea- 
tures, the sun, the moon, and the stars, 
the vast expanse of the ocean, the 
earth, trees, flowers, animals, and man 
especially, are a grand mirror in which 
the perfections of God are reflected in 
a dark and imperfect manner. We 
see, in them all, faint reflections of 
His divine beauty, wisdom, goodness, 
power, and of His other perfections; 
but himself as He is, we cannot see. 
Therefore, all the knowledge of God 
which we can derive from the contem- 
plation of creatures, adding even all 
that he has been pleased to reveal of 
himself, far from satisfying, rather in- 
creases the thirst of the soul for more. 
They who know most of God are the 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 67 

saints, and they are the very ones who 
can say, with the royai prophet : "As 
the hart panteth after the fountains of 
water, so my soul panteth after Thee, 
O God. My soul hath thirsted after 
the strong, living God ; when shall I 
come and appear before the face of 
God ? '^ "^ This is the continual sigh 
and cry of the saints, because the 
knowledge which they have of God in 
creatures, and even in their visions, 
does not satisfy their longings. But 
listen to St. Paul: "We now see 
through a glass in a dark manner ; but 
then face to face : now I know in part; 
but then I shall know even as I am 
known." f 

How consoling are these words of 
inspiration ! Yes, in heaven, we shall 

* Ps. xli. 2. f 1 Cor. xiii. 12. 



68 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

see God as He is, face to face. We 
shall see Him in all his adorable per- 
fections by a clear and unclouded per- 
ception of his divine essence. We 
shall gaze with unspeakable delight 
and rapture upon that beauty, ever 
ancient and ever new. We shall drink 
in all knowledge at its living source — 
unmingled with error or doubt. All 
the darkness and ignorance caused by 
sin will forever vanish in the light of 
God's countenance, as the darkness of 
night disappears before the rising sun. 
We shall then see, as it is, the august 
and awful mystery of the most Holy 
Trinity — the deepest, the sublimest, 
and the most incomprehensible of all 
those that God ever revealed to man. 
We shall then see the eternal Father, 
ever begetting His only Son, and the 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 69 

Holy Ghost ever proceeding from both 
Father and Son. We shall then see 
how they are really three distinct Per- 
isons, and yet one undivided Essence. 
We shall see, face to face, and as he 
is, this great, eternal God, in the 
eternity of His duration, in the abysses 
of his unsearchable judgments, in the 
sweetness of his goodness, in the ten- 
derness of his mercies, in the spotless- 
ness of his sanctity, in the severity of 
his justice, in the might of his irre- 
sistible power, in the charms of his 
captivating beauty, and in the splendor 
of his majesty and glory. In a word, 
we shall no longer see God as He is 
reflected in the mirror of creation, but 
as he is in himself. 

This is the vision which no mortal 
has seen, Dr can see in this world. 



70 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

This is the vision which pours torrents 
of knowledge into our souls, and fills 
them to overflowing. No more search- 
ing of books ; no more wasting away 
of health and strength in the pursuit 
of knowledge ; no more going to learned 
men, as the beggar goes to the rich for 
bread. No more perplexing and tor- 
turing doubts that perhaps we have 
not the truth. The light of glory has 
opened our eyes, and we see all truth 
as it is, and become like God in know- 
ledge, because we see him as He is. 

But this is not yet all. The glorifi- 
cation of our intellect will not only 
enable us to see God as He is: it will 
also unveil us to ourselves, and make 
us see ourselves as we are. 

In our present state of existence, we 
are a mystery to ourselves. In spite 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 71 

of the numberless learned works writ- 
ten on the mind, and the laws by which 
it operates, our knowledge of it is still 
very limited. We see the human soul 
only as reflected in a mirror, that is, 
in her outward manifestations. Thus, 
when we read a magnificent poem, 
or when we gaze upon a noble ship 
ploughing the waters of the deep, or 
riding safely through a fearful storm ; 
or when we look upon grand churches, 
palaces, and. works of art — all these are 
as mirrors, which reflect the greatness, 
wisdom, power, and ingenuity of the 
human soul. • Again, when we enter 
orphan asylums, or other institutions 
for the unfortunate and destitute of 
every description, we may view them 
as mirrors which reflect the moral 
goodness of the soul ; but the soul her- 



72 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

self as she is, we cannot see. She is 
as invisible to us as God himself. 

In heaven, we shall know and see 
ourselves as we are. For, as St. Paul 
tells us : " Then I shall know even as 
I am known." We shall then see and 
know that beautiful, living image of 
the Eternal in her very essence. We 
shall see her clothed with a surpassing 
beauty, adorned with the gems of grace 
and good works, and shining in the 
presence of God like a very star. This 
sight of ourselves and of our exceeding 
beauty will kindle in us none other 
than sentiments of unbounded grati- 
tude to God, who is the giver of our 
existence and of all that we possess. 
Here again, as well as in the knowl- 
edge of God, the human intellect will 
rest satisfied; because its thirst for the 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 73 

complete knowledge of self will be 
quenched in the Beatific Vision. 

Besides seeing ourselves as we are, 
we shall also see the beautiful angels, 
our elder brothers in creation. We 
shall also see, as they are, our fellow- 
men, who are now as much a mystery 
to us as we are to ourselves. We shall 
likewise see all other creatures as they 
are in their very essence, and not as 
they now appear to us. We shall see 
all things in the. ^^one God and Father 
of all, who is above all, and through 
all, and in us all/"^ Thus shall our 
souls be filled to overflowing with all 
knowledge from its living source, which 
is God himself, the eternal Truth. 

Before closing this chapter, I must 
remark, for fear of being misunder- 

*Epli. iv.6. 



74 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

stood, that when we say the blessed 
will see all things in God, we do not 
mean that they will really possess all 
knowledge. We are finite beings, and, 
consequently, essentially unable to pos- 
sess any attribute or perfection in an 
infinite degree. We can no more pos- 
sess all knowledge than we can be 
clothed with all power, all holiness, all 
beauty, or any other perfection in an 
infinite degree. All these attributes 
belong to God alone. Even the angels, 
who are so superior to us, do not know 
everything.* When we say, therefore, 

^ . . . . Angeli superiores, inferiores a nescientia 
purgant. Angeli autem inferiores vident essentian: 
divinam : ergo angelus videns essentiam divinam, 
potest aliqua nescire. Sed anima non perfectius 
videbit Deum quam angelus : ergo anim86 videntes 
Deum non oportet quod omnia videant. . . . Sic autem 
ignorantia non est poenalitas, sed defectus quidam : 
nee necesse est quod omnis talis defectus per gloriam 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 75 

that we shall see all things in God, we 
simply mean that each one's capacity, 
great or small, shall be completely 
filled, and that he shall desire nothing 
more. When we fill many vessels with 
water, the smallest is as full as the 
largest. So in heaven. Each one 
shall know according to his individual 
capacity, which the Light of glory will 
give him. Each one shall be filled to 
overflowing, and desire no more. But 
more of this when we come to speak of 
the degrees of glory. 

auferatur. Sic enim etiam posset dici quod defectus 
esset in Papa Lino quod non pervenerit ad gloriam 
Petri. — S. Thorn. , Suppl. q. 92, art. 3. 




CHAPTER IV. 

THE BEATIFIC VISION. 

(continued.) 

IN the Beatific Vision our will is also 
to be glorified, and then we shall be 
happy in loving and being loved. 

We have seen in the foregoing chap- 
ter that our intellectual faculties are 
glorified, and that our natural thirst 
for knowledge is forever quenched. 
But we have another faculty, called the 
will, or the loving power of the soul. 
This faculty is also to be glorified in 
the Beatific Vision. Then our con- 
tinual desire for happiness, which we 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVE:N^. 77 

vainly sought in creatures, will be com- 
pletely gratified. We shall now see 
that, in the Beatific Vision, our will or 
moral nature is elevated, ennobled, and 
made like God by a participation of 
His sanctity, beatitude, and love. But 
let us first cast a glance at ourselves, as 
we now are in our fallen state. 

When our first parents revolted 
against God, they abandoned the eter- 
nal rule of rectitude, which is God's 
Will. Their passions, which hereto- 
fore had been under the control of 
reason, revolted against them, and their 
will was turned away from God. We, 
their children, have inherited all the 
consequences of their fall. We seek 
ourselves inordinately — follow our own 
capricious will, which leads us into ex- 
cesses, at which we blush in our sober 



78 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

moments. We stubbornly persist in 
seeking our happiness in creatures, 
though reason itself loudly proclaims 
that in them it cannot be found. Evi- 
dently, then, our will has been sadly 
perverted in the fall of our first 
parents. 

One of the objects of the Christian 
religion was to bring back our will to 
a conformity with the Divine Will, and 
to cause it to love God above all things. 
Yet, in spite of its manifold teachings, 
in spite too of the sacraments, and the 
many graces we daily receive, in spite 
of prayer, meditation, and other spirit- 
ual exercises, this grand object is but 
partially attained in this world. For 
we find our perverse will again and 
again rising in rebellion against God. 
When a command is imposed upon 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 79 

US whicli does not chime in with our 
wishes, private interests, views, or 
natural inclination, we not unfre- 
quently must drag ourselves by main 
force to perform what is commanded. 
And if we do obey, it is often only 
after doing all in our power, by excuse 
or pretext, to escape the obligation of 
obeying. Indeed, we all can say with 
the apostle : " I am delighted with the 
law of God, according to the inward 
ma.n ; but I see another law in my mem- 
bers, fighting against the law of my 
mind, and captivating me under the 
law of sin that is in my members." "^ 

What a tyranny this law of sin exer- 
cises over the will, even of holy per- 
sons ! How often do they discover, on 
close examination, that their will has 

* Rom. vii. 22. 



80 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

departed from the eternal rule, which 
is the will of God ! How often do 
they find that they had been seeking 
their own, instead of God's glory! 
After doing really great things, which 
they fancied were done purely for God, 
they find, to their grief, that, to a great 
extent, they, had been secretly and art- 
fully seeking themselves, and their own 
glory. . And they have reason to fear 
that they have already received their 
reward in that human applause which 
they sought, or in which they took such 
complacency when it came unsought. 

It is said that persons who have 
been bitten by a viper, and who have 
nevertheless recovered by the applica- 
tion of timely remedies, are never again 
the same in health as they were before. 
At times they are swollen, or feel acute 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 81 

pains, or haye a morbid and depraved 
appetite for what they should not eat. 
At other times they feel a general lan- 
guor, which takes away all their ener- 
gy, so that whatever they do requires a 
most painfiil effort. Evidently, some 
of the poison is still lurking in their 
system, and so long as it remains there 
these infirmities will never be entirely 
healed. 

So it is with us, in a moral point of 
view. Our human nature was bitten 
and poisoned by the infernal serpent, 
in the earthly paradise, and although 
a powerful antidote was given us in the 
Redemption, some of the venom re- 
mained in us ; and as long as we live 
here below, we shuU feel its effects. 
We shall always feel the sting of con- 
cupiscence, and retain an inclination to 



82 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

evil, to seek ourselves inordinately, and 
to follow our own will. We shall al- 
ways experience a certain languor in 
the practice of virtue, which involves a 
continual effort and struggle. 

What an exquisite consolation it is 
to us to be assured that none of this poi- 
son will follow us into heaven! Yes, 
the day will come — blessed and glo- 
rious day! — when all that perversity 
of will, all that inclination to evil, and 
all the passions of our depraved nature 
will be no more ! All these will die in 
our temporal death, and be buried — 
never to rise again in our glorified 
bodies. The Beatific Vision will glo- 
rify our will, and change us, as it were, 
into new creatures. 

Then shall we find ourselves joyfully 
willing to do what God wills, as He 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 83 

wills it, and because he so wills it — 
without the least repugnance on our 
part. We shall no longer have pecu- 
liar views, private interests, or natural 
inclinations to clash with the will and 
interests of God. His divine will and 
ours shall become so totally one, that 
we shall seem to have no will of our 
own, so completely, and, at the same 
time, so sweetly, shall it be identified 
with the will and good pleasure of 
God. In a word, as our intellect is 
elevated by the Light of glory, and 
filled with the purest knowledge in 
the Beatific Vision, so also our will is 
purified, sanctified, and made like God's 
will, in rectitude and perfect sanctity. 

But not only shall our will become 
holy and conformed to God's will : we 
shall also love God above all things, 



84 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

purely, unselfishly, ardently, and for 
His own blessed sake ; and in that love 
shall we, at last, find the perfect happi- 
ness we vainly sought in the love of 
creatures. 

Human love is a source of partial 
happiness in this world, and it is in 
this human love, as in a mirror, that 
we see faint reflections of the unspeak- 
able happiness which will inebriate our 
souls in the Beatific Vision. But they 
are emphatically faint reflections; for 
whether it be conjugal, parental, or 
fraternal love, or whether it be the 
love of pure friendship — whether it be 
even elevated by grace to the super- 
natural virtue of charity, it never did, 
and never will bestow perfect happi- 
ness in this world. It depends for its 
existence and perfection on conditions 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 85 

which can never be completely fulfilled 
in our present state of imperfection ; 
an^, therefore, the short-lived happi- 
ness to which it gives birth is always 
mingled with a certain amount of bit- 
terness. 

It is in heaven, and only in heaven, 
that all the conditions of love can be 
fulfilled ; and, hence, it is there only 
that love will produce pure and perfect 
happiness, unmingled with the disap- 
pointments, cruel misunderstandings, 
and insufficiency of human love. First 
of all, the love of heaven is essentially 
mutual. The vision of God not only 
reveals to the soul His divine beau- 
ty, goodness, wisdom, and numberless 
other perfections, which captivate her, 
and ^ set her on fire with a seraphic 
love ; but it also reveals the intense 



86 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

and mysterious love of God for her. 
The sight of that divine love produces 
in her the happiness which the heart 
of man cannot conceive. 

If a great king should speak kindly 
to a poor peasant, smile upon him, and 
even show him a real affection, a happi- 
ness which he never experienced before 
would take possession of his heart. A 
thrill of joy would run through every 
fibre of his frame. He would be a 
new man, and live a new life, simply 
because a great one of this world had 
smiled upon him and condescended to 
love him. 

This is a faint reflection of that un- 
dying thrill of joy, of that unspeak- 
able happiness which the loving smile 
of God will produce upon the soul. 
For, in the Beatific Vision, she sees 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 87 

clear-j that, in spite of her littleness 
and insignificance, which she never 
saw as she now does — in spite, too, of 
the sins and imperfections which had 
stained her beauty while in the flesh, 
the great and thrice-holy God loves 
her infinitely more tenderly and sin- 
cerely than either father or mother, or 
any other creature ever did. Not only 
does she see the intense love of God 
beaming upon her now, but she sees, 
moreover, that He loved her from 
eternity, when she existed as yet only 
in the divine mind. Yes, she sees her- 
self lying in the bosom of the Eternal, 
with His mysterious love brooding over 
her, and giving her existence in the 
fulness of time. This is truly and 
emphatically, for her, a Beatific Vision. 
It is vain for us to endeavor to fathom 



88 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

the exquisite happiness which this 
vision of God's love produces in the 
soul. For, if the mere smile of a king 
has the power of infusing joy into the 
heart of a poor and insignificant person, 
what shall we say of the smile of God, 
who is the King of kings ? What shall 
we say of His affectionate, paternal 
embrace? What shall we say of the 
joy, the happiness that flow into the 
soul, when He presses her to his 
bosom, gives her the kiss of peace, and 
calls her his own beloved child ? 
What shall we say of her exceeding 
happiness, when He makes her a par- 
taker of his divine nature, and unites 
her to himself more intimately than 
two creatures ever could be united in 
this world ? 

These are all secrets of heaven. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 89 

They are simply unspeakable, because 
they are beyond our present powers of 
comprehension. Eye hath not seen 
them, ear hath not heard them, nor 
hath it entered into the heart of man 
to conceive them. We shall, therefore, 
make no further attempt to express 
what no human tongue can utter. But 
we may say that, as a pure and mutual 
love produces the greatest happiness 
we know of in this world, so also the 
mutual love which exists between the 
soul and God in the Beatific Vision, is 
the source of the most perfect happi- 
ness possible. 

But there is another feature of that 
unspeakable happiness, which we must 
now consider. Love must not only be 
mutual to produce happiness ; there 
must, besides, be neither fear nor sus* 



90 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

picion that either of the parties will 
prove false. Every one knows that 
when a suspicion of that nature fastens 
upon the mind of one who loves, his 
happiness is at an end ; and there is 
no telling to what extravagant excesses 
his jealousy may lead him. 

This imperfection, which blasts so 
much happiness in this world, will 
never find its way into our heavenly 
home. For the soul not only sees that 
He who lo7ed her from eternity will 
continue to do so everlastingly; she 
not only sees the utter impossibility of 
God's ever despising her ; but she, at 
the same time, sees the impossibility 
of her ever provmg false to Him. She 
not only sees God as He is, but she 
also sees everything else as it is. How- 
ever beautiful, therefore, creatures may 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 91 

be in heaven, she always sees in God 
a beauty and perfection so vastly, so 
infinitely superior, that it is impossible 
for her to be captivated by creatures, 
as she was in this world. She loves 
all the companions of her bliss, it is 
true ; but she loves them all in God, 
and for God. She loves them because 
they are His, and because he loves 
them. She loves them too, because 
they are so holy, so beautiful, and so 
much like God, and, therefore, deserv- 
ing of her love. But her chiefest, her 
absorbing love is centred in God, and 
remains centred there forever. Never 
can there come a day when she will 
see a growing coldness in God for her. 
Never shall there dawn a day when 
she will discover in herself a growing 
coldness for God ; and, consequently, 



92 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

there never shall be a day when her 
exceeding happiness Avill fade away 
or be lessened. Rather, she sees the 
dawn of a glorious day when her hap- 
piness will be increased, perfected, and 
completed in the resurrection of the 
body — a day when other joys and 
pleasures will be added to those she 
now enjoys in the Beatific Vision. 




CHAPTER Y. 

THE BEAUTY AND GLORY OF THE 
RISEI^ BODY. 

WE have seen in the foregoing 
chapters that, in the Beatific 
Vision, the human soul sees, loves, and 
enjoys God, and that her essential hap- 
piness consists in that unfailing, blessed 
vision. But, although the blessedness 
she now enjoys is far greater than 
words can express, it is not yet integral 
or complete, and never will be, except 
when she is again clothed in her own 
body, beautified, and glorified after the 
likeness of her Saviour's body. 

93 



94 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

However, although her happiness is 
not yet complete, you must not there- 
fore imagine that the least shadow of 
sadness or unhappiness hangs over her. 
For, as we have seen, her will is now 
totally conformed to God's will. It fol- 
lows that although she sees other joys 
and pleasures in store for her, and 
desires them, these desires do not in 
the least mar her exceeding happiness. 
She wills the resurrection of her body 
as God wills it, and because He wills 
it, and because also her body is abso- 
lutely necessary to complete her human 
nature, which essentially consists of 
both soul and body. We shall begin 
our meditations on the resurrection of 
the body by first contemplating the 
beauty and splendor of the glorified 
body. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 95 

In order to form some idea of the 
perfect beauty and splendor of form 
which is in store for us, we must first 
look at some of the transformations 
which take place in the natural order. 
These will aid us, very materially, in 
arriving at a conception, more or less 
perfect, of the glorious transformation 
which the power of God will work in 
us at the resurrection. 

When we examine the kingdoms of 
nature, we discover that the gross mat- 
ter which surrounds us in shapeless 
masses, is susceptible of forms and 
organizations so perfect, refined, and 
beautiful, that we may, in some sense, 
call these forms glorified matter. It 
is, certainly, matter glorified far above 
inferior forms in the natural order. 
Let us take a few examples. 



96 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

What is the diamond ? It is nothing 
more than crystallized carbon, or char- 
coal. There is nothing in the whole 
range of science which can be so easily 
and so positively proved as this. The 
famous diamond Koh-i-noor, or moun- 
tain of light, which now sparkles in the 
British crown, and which is worth more 
than half a million of dollars, could, 
in a few moments, be reduced to a 
thimbleful of worthless coal-dust. Yet, 
how great a difference, in appearance 
and value, between that precious gem 
and a thimbleful of coal-dust ! Again, 
what are other gems, such as the rubj^, 
the sapphire, the topaz, the emerald, 
and others? They are nothing more 
than crystallized clay or sand, with a 
trifling quantity of metallic oxide or 
rust, which gives to each one its 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 97 

peculiar color. Yet, what a difference 
between these sparkling and costly 
jewels and the shapeless clod or sand 
which we trample under foot ! 

If we now look for a moment into 
the vegetable kingdom, we see this 
glorification of matter still more won- 
derfully displayed. Of what are all 
plants composed ? They are all com- 
posed of four elements of matter, which 
have no remarkable beauty of their 
own. In scientific language they are 
called carbon or charcoal, oxygen, 
hydrogen, and nitrogen. By the 
power and the laws of life these are 
transformed into that endless variety 
of beauty and color, odor and taste, 
so striking in the vegetable world. 
Hence, the most beautiful flowers, and 
their exquisite perfumes, as well as the 

9 G 



98 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

delicious fruits to which they give birth, 
are all made of the very same elements 
of matter as the bark, the wood, and 
the root of the tree that bears them. 
l(fet, what a difference between the 
coarse tree and the delicate flower ! 
What a difference, too, between the 
tasteless bark or the wood of the tree, 
and the luscious fruit that hangs in 
clusters from its branches ! 

Now if, in the natural order, God 
can and does transform coarse and 
shapeless matter into forms so beautiful 
and so glorious, what shall we say of 
the beauty and perfection into which 
He will change our vile bodies ! For 
all these transformations which we now 
witness belong to the natural order, and 
are the result of the laws which govern 
matter in this world of imperfection ; 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 99 

whereas our transformation in the re- 
surrection depends on the immediate 
act of God's almighty power. The 
difference, therefore, between our pre- 
sent corruptible body and the glorified 
body, will be greater by far than the 
difference we now see between charcoal 
and the diamond, or between the ex- 
quisitely shaped flower and the coarse 
shrub that bears it. 

Having said this much to aid us 
in forming some idea of the glorified 
body, we shall now proceed to examine 
one of its attributes, which St. Paul 
mentions, when he says : " It is sown 
in dishonor, it shall rise in glory." ^ 
Our bodies were indeed sown in dis- 
honor, in the company of worms, and 
a prey to corruption. They had been 

^ 1 Cor. XV. 43. 



100 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

honored by the presence of an im- 
mortal spirit, the very image of the 
living God. They had been honored 
by the Holy Ghost, who made them 
His temple. They had been honored, 
too, by the presence of Jesus Christ, 
who made them His tabernacle, every 
time we received Him in holy com- 
munion. But death has struck them 
down ; the spirit has fled ; they lie cold 
and motionless, and corruption begins 
to assert its empire over them. Our 
nearest and dearest friends hasten to 
throw them into the dark and silent 
grave, where they return into their 
original dust. Then, indeed, our bodies 
are "sown in dishonor." But when 
the fulness of time shall have come, 
these same dishonored bodies "shall 
rise in glory." 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 101 

This word glory is one of great and 
manifold meanings in Holy Scripture. 
In this particular place and connection 
it means excellence and beauty, ac- 
companied with a shining splendor. 
Wherefore, our bodies rising in glory, 
means, first, that they shall rise perfect 
in beauty and symmetry of form, and 
totally free from the defects and blem- 
ishes entailed by sin. This perfect 
beauty of form is evidently involved 
in the promise of rising conformable 
to the glorious body of our Blessed 
Saviour, " who will reform the body 
of our lowness, made like the body of 
His glory, according to the operation 
whereby he is also able to subdue all 
things unto himself." "^ 

The human body was created perfect 

- Phil. iii. 21. 
9* 



102 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

in the beginning. It was the master- 
piece of God's power and wisdom in 
this world. But sin dishonored and 
disfigured it. It gave birth to a host 
of infirmities, which mar its original 
beauty, and in some cases change it 
even into a monster. Still, in spite of 
sin, it yet retains, in many individuals, 
much of its primitive comeliness. But 
how perfect soever in form and feature 
any one may be, there is always some 
deficiency; some member, organ, or 
feature is slightly distorted, imperfect, 
or out of proportion with the rest. 

On the resurrection day, all these 
defects and blemishes disappear, and 
the human body is again, far more 
than in the beginning, a masterpiece 
of God's creative power, wisdom, and 
love. For every member, organ, and 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 103 

feature will then be exquisitely shaped 
and proportioned, so as to harmonize 
into a perfect whole of surpassing 
beauty, without defect or deficiency of 
any kind. Oh ! with what rapturous 
delight will the soul reunite herself 
with that beautiful body, and make it 
her temple forever ! It was the com- 
panion of her sorrows and her joys in 
this world. But it was, too, a body of 
sin and death, and she had, perhaps 
more than once, sighed and prayed to 
be delivered from it. But now that it 
is purified, beautified, and glorified, 
she re-enters it with joy, because it is 
become the fit companion of a beatified 
spirit. The fond mother meeting her 
long-lost child, and, in the joy of her 
heart, pressing it to her bosom, is a 
faint image of the joy which the soul 



104 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

will experience in the reunion with 
her glorified body. 

But this is not all. St. Thomas 
maintains * that, besides rising in per- 
fect beauty of form, all the just must 
rise in the bloom and vigor of youth ; 
otherwise our bodies would not, ac- 
cording to promise, rise conformable 
to the glorious body of Jesus Christ. 
From this doctrine it follows that all 

* Respondeo dicendum, quod homo resurget absque 
omni defectu humanae naturae : quia sicut Deus hu- 
manam naturam absque defectu instituit, ita sine 
defectu reparabit. Deficit autem humana natura 
dupliciter. Uno modo quia nondum perfectionem 
ultimam est consecuta. Alio modo, quia jam ab 
ultima perfectione recessit. Et primo modo deficit 
in pueris, secundo modo deficit in senibus. Et ideo, 
in utrisque reducetur humana natura per resurrec- 
tionem, ad statum ultimae perfectionis qui est in 
juvenili aetate, ad quam terminatur motus augmenti, 
a qua incipit motus deorementi. — S. Thorn, Suppl. 
q. 81, art. 1. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 105 

delect, or appearance of old age, as 
well as the infirmities and deficiencies 
of infancy, will be completely removed, 
and all the saints will enjoy the full 
perfection of human nature. What 
consolation there is in all these glori- 
ous promises ! To be forever young 
and vigorous, forever blessed with per- 
fect health of mind and body, to be 
forever beyond the reach of time, which 
destroys all beauty here below ; to be 
clothed with a body that shall forever 
be a stranger to suffering : these are 
some of the joys in store for the chil- 
dren of God in the resurrection of the 
body. 

However, this is not all. Rising 
in glory means something more than 
rising in mere beauty of form, bloom 
of youth, and the complete perfection 



106 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

of human nature. It also implies a 
radiant brilliancy wherewith the just 
will shine on the resurrection day. 
This is one of the meanings of glory 
in the language of Scripture. Take 
the following as an instance out of 
many: "And when Aaron spoke to 
all the assembly of the children of 
Israel, they looked toward the wilder- 
ness : and, behold, the glory of the 
Lord appeared in a cloud." ^ That is, 
a brilliant and dazzling splendor burst 
forth in the heavens. So, also, when 
Jesus was glorified in his transfigura- 
tion, " His face did shine as the sun, 
and his garments became white as 
snow." Moreover, as a general rule, 
when celestial inhabitants appeared in 
this world, they were surrounded with 

^ Exod. xvi. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 107 

a halo of brilliant light; as we read 
of the angels who appeared at the 
birth of Christ, and of those who ap- 
peared to the holy women that were 
going to embalm the body of Jesus. 
Hence it is that in the paintings of 
Christian art, the head, or the whole 
body of Christ, of the Blessed Virgin, 
and of the saints, is always surrounded 
by this halo of light. 

This is the light, the brilliancy which 
is promised to the saints by our Blessed 
Lord himself, when He says : ^' Then 
shall the just shine as the sun in the 
kingdom of their Father.'"^ Thus 
shall the soul that is now united to 
God, in the Beatific Vision, and al- 
ready a partaker of the divine nature, 
communicate her own dazzling splen- 

■^ Matt. xiii. 



108 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

dor to the body, and surround it with 
an aureola of glory, which will form 
a portion of her blessedness for ever- 
more. 

But, although all the just must rise 
in glory and in the perfection of human 
nature, you must not, therefore, infer 
that all shall rise in the same degree 
of beauty and splendor of form. For, 
as the resurrection is a reward to the 
just, it follows that each one shall have 
a body glorified in proportion to his 
own individual merits. Any contrary 
doctrine would sound like heresy. If 
you were told, for instance, that the 
murderer who dies on the scaffold, 
after making an act of perfect con- 
trition, will rise on the last day with 
a body as beautiful and glorious as 
that of the Blessed Virgin, or of the 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 109 

Apostles, martyrs, and holy virgins, 
your whole soul would revolt at such 
a doctrine. You would maintain, that 
if the resurrection is a reward to the 
just, the beauty of their bodies should 
bear some proportion to their merits. 
You would certainly be right in main- 
taining this ; for it is the very doctrine 
taught by St.. Paul, when he says: 
" One is the glory of the sun, another 
the glory of the moon, and another the 
glory of the stars, for star differeth 
from star in glory : so also in the re- 
surrection of the dead.^' ^ Each one, 
therefore, shall rise in that particular 
degree of glory which he has deserved 
by the more or less holy life he has 
led in this world. 

It will no longer be as it is in this 

* 1 Cor. XV. 41. 
10 



110 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

world, where personal beauty is a free 
gift of God, but no reward. Hence 
we see personal beauty in pagans and 
infidels, as well as in Christians. Its 
possession does not, in the least, de- 
note sanctity ; nor does its absence de- 
note moral depravity; and, therefore, 
beautiful persons may be very wicked, 
while deformed ones may be very holy. 
Not so after the resurrection. Perfect 
personal beauty, accompanied with a 
heavenly splendor, being one of the 
rewards in store for the children of 
God, will then denote sanctity in the 
just. The more holy they have been 
in this life, the more beautiful and 
conformable to the glorious body of 
Jesus they shall be. 

Now, Christian reader, do you wish 
to possess faultless personal beauty in 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. Ill 

your heavenly home ? Do you desire, 
not only to increase your own blessed- 
ness, but to be even an ornament in 
the kingdom of your Father? No 
doubt you do. Well, you have the 
means in your hands. Lead a holy 
life, a life of purity and perfect charity. 
Endeavor to reproduce in yourself the 
virtues which Jesus taught and prac- 
tised; and when the angel's trumpet 
calls the dead to life, your body, which 
must first be sown in dishonor, shall 
rise in that degree of beauty which 
you have deserved by the holiness of 
your life. 




CHAPTER VI. 

THE SPIRITUALITY OF THE RISEN 
BODY. 

HAVING seen the personal beauty 
and splendor in which the just 
will rise on the last day, we shall now 
examine some other attributes of the 
glorified body. St. Paul tells us : " It 
is sown an animal body, it shall rise a 
spiritual body." * 

Rising a spiritual body does not 
mean that the bodies of the just shall 
be changed into spirits. Our bodies, 
which are material by nature, must 
remain so forever. They must rise in 

^ 1 Cor, XV. 44. 

112 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 113 

conformity to the glorious body of 
Jesus Christ, " who will reform the 
body of our lowness made like to the 
body of His glory. '^ And what kind 
of a body had Jesus Christ, when he 
arose triumphant over death and hell ? 
It was certainly His own material body 
of real flesh and blood, and not a spirit. 
When he appeared to his apostles, 
as St. Luke tells us, "they, being 
troubled and affrighted, supposed that 
they saw a spirit. And He said to 
them. Why are you troubled, and why 
do these thoughts arise in your hearts? 
Bee my hands and feet, that it is I my- 
self; handle and see ; for a spirit hath 
not flesh and bones as you see me 
have."* Assuredly, here is a true 

* Luke xxiv. 
10* H 



114 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

body of flesh and blood and bone, and 
not a spiritual one — in the sense that 
matter does or can become a spirit. It 
is the very same body in which He suf- 
fered such terrible tortures and agonies 
during his bitter passion. 

So shall we rise on the last day, in 
our own material body of flesh and 
blood, with every organ and member 
glorified and made conformable to the 
body of Jesus Christ. According to 
the teachings of St. Thomas, our bodies 
shall rise of the same nature as they 
now are. For glory does not change 
or destroy nature, but perfects it.* 

^ Ponere enim corpus transire in spiritum est 
omnino impossibile. Non enim transeunt invicem 
nisi quae in materia communicant. Spiritualium 
autem et corporalium non potest esse communicatio 
in materia, cum substantiae spirituales sint omnino 
immateriales. Inpossibile est igitur quod corpus 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 115 

Evidently, then, rising a spiritual body 
does not mean that our bodies are to be 
changed into spirits. What then does 
it mean ? It means that, while retain- 
ing their essential material nature, they 
will be clothed with properties which 
naturally belong only to spirits, and 
not to bodies. These we shall now 
examine. 

1. In the first place, rising a spirit- 
ual body implies that the glorified body 
will no longer need food, drink, and 
sleep, to sustain life and strength, as it 
now does. The risen body will, there- 
fore, in this respect, become like a 
spirit, which needs neither food nor 
drink. Eating is a necessity of the 

humanum transeat in substantiam spiritualem 

Similiter etiam impossibile est quod corpus bominia 
resurgentis sit quasi aereum et ventis simile. — S. 
Thorn,, Cont. gent., lib. 4, c. 84. 



116 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

present life, and makes our bodies 
animal, lliis necessity will no longer 
exist after the resurrection. When we 
reflect upon this, it seems to us that 
nearly one half of human life, and of 
its energies, are expended upon this 
one thing of eating, providing, and 
preparing food. Fields must be sown, 
and crops must be raised ; grain must 
be ground ; cattle must be cared for 
almost as children ; ships must cross 
and recross the ocean; and all this to 
prepare food and raiment for our vile 
bodies. What a slavery this is ! The 
soul, that noble image of the living 
God, instead of giving her time to the 
developing of her faculties and the 
contemplating of God and His works, 
must provide and prepare food for 
the body. Rising a spiritual body 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 117 

will forever emancipate us from this 
slavery. 

But although it is true that there 
shall be no more eating and drinking 
in heaven, as we now understand these 
two actions, you must not infer from 
this that the sense of taste shall not be 
gratified in the blessed. It most cer- 
tainly will be, as well as every other 
sense of the human body, though not 
by the corruptible food of the present 
life. When the butterfly was a cater- 
pillar, it devoured green leaves with 
pleasure and avidity. They were its 
very life. But now that it is changed 
into a beautiful butterfly, it lives on 
the honey and exquisite perfume of 
flowers. If you offer it those same 
leaves that it loved so much while a 
caterpillar, it scorns them, and refuses 



118 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

even to touch them ; for they are now 
unable, in its transformed state, to give 
it any pleasure. So shall it be with us 
after the resurrection. Our tastes shall 
be so refined that we shall scorn the 
low animal pleasures which are fit 
only for our present corruptible bodies. 
What a difference there is between the 
coarse green leaf which is the food of 
the caterpillar, and the exquisite honey 
of the blushing rose, which is the food 
of the butterfly! There is a still 
greater difference between the crea- 
tures that now gratify our senses, and 
those that are reserved in heaven to 
gratify our glorified senses after the 
resurrection. 

But there is still another slavery 
besides that of eating and drinking, 
from which we shall be delivered by 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 119 

rising a spiritual body. It is the 
slavery of sleep, which takes up nearly 
one-third of our lives. We all know 
by experience, that it takes only a few 
hours of heavy physical labor or as- 
siduous mental application to exhaust 
all our mental energies and bodily 
strength. And, whether we like it or 
not, we must sleep six or seven hours, 
in order to regain our lost strength, 
and to be ourselves again. How many 
saints have grieved over this necessity 
of our nature ! Often have they de- 
sired to spend the nights in the con- 
templation of God; but in spite of 
their endeavors, they were overpowered 
by sleep. The spirit, indeed, was will- 
ing, but the flesh was weak. 

This imperative necessity of our ani- 
mal bodies will be totally removed by 



120 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

rising a spiritual body. Spirits have 
no need of sleep ; their energies are 
never exhausted by the manifold acts 
which they constantly perform. They 
live in the continual enjoyment of that 
supernatural strength wherewith they 
were clothed the moment the Vision of 
God flashed upon them. It is this 
wonderful strength which will be 
poured out, as it were, over our bodies, 
at the resurrection. For, as St. Paul 
says of our body: " It is sown in weak- 
ness, it shall rise in power.'' * Hence, 
however intense may be the applica- 
tion of our mental faculties or of our 
physical powers in heaven, we shall 
ever remain strangers to the well- 
known feelings of fatigue and pros- 
tration. All our energies shall ever 

* 1 Cor. XV, 43. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 121 

remain fresh and unimpaired, and 
their continual exercise shall be the 
never-failing source of the most ex- 
quisite enjoyment. 

2. In the second place, rising a 
spiritual body implies vastly more than 
the mere emancipation from the neces- 
sities of nature. It means, besides, 
that the body will then be totally sub- 
ject to the spirit, and consequently that 
concupiscence and other inordinate pas- 
sions, which now war against the spirit, 
shall no longer exist. This is one of 
the most consoling of promises to per- 
sons who are endeavoring to lead a 
holy life. Their present corruptible 
body, in which "the law of sin" re- 
sides, is an enemy that is ever warring 
against the spirit. Often have they 

cried out with St. Paul : '' Unhappy man 
11 



122 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

that I am ! who will deliver me from 
the body of this death ? The grace of 
God, by Jesus Christ our Lord." * 

Yes, the fulness of grace has come 
at last, and the body of sin and death 
is no more. It is now changed into a 
spiritual body, which is not only totally 
subject to the spirit, but even aids and 
perfects it, in all its intellectual opera- 
tions, as well as in its moral affections. 
The spiritual body is, therefore, no 
longer a burden and a temptation ; it 
is become like a spirit, which cannot 
be enslaved to inordinate animal pas- 
sions or instincts. 

What a blessedness is here promised 
to us ! No more involuntary cravings 
after forbidden pleasures ; no more of 
those involuntary thoughts and incli- 

■^Rom. vii. 24. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 123 

nations which are so humiliating to 
pure souls; no more danger of being 
turned away from God by the beauty 
of creatures ; no more wandering of 
the mind from His presence. In a 
word, the spiritual body is totally sub- 
ject to the spirit, and " the law of sin," 
which received its birth at the fall of 
our first parents, is totally destroyed. 

3. Rising a spiritual body means, in 
the third place, that the matter of 
which the body is now composed will 
become so refined and delicately organ- 
ized, as, in some sense, to approach the 
nature of a spirit, while retaining its 
essential material nature. Our body 
will therefore lose its material gross- 
ness, roughness of texture, and weight, 
and will be clothed with the attributes 
of agility and subtilty. 



124 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Agility implies the power of trans- 
porting ourselves from place to place 
with the rapidity of thought. In this 
world we can, in the twinkling of an 
eye, send our thoughts on the wings 
of electricity across a whole continent, 
or the vast expanse of the ocean ; after 
the resurrection, we shall possess that 
power in our very bodies, because they 
shall rise spiritual bodies, entirely un- 
der the control of the soul. 

Subtilty means that our risen bodies 
will be endowed with the power of 
penetrating all things, even the hard- 
est substances, as easily as the sun's 
rays penetrate a clear crystal. This is 
the power which our blessed Lord pos- 
sessed and exercised, when He arose 
from the dead, without removing the 
stone that covered the mouth of the 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 125 

sepulchre. He simply passed through 
it with his glorified body. Again, after 
eigiit days, when the Apostles were 
gathered together, '' Jesus cometh, the 
doors being shut, and stood in the 
midst, and said : Peace be to you." "^ 
This is a supernatural gift with which 
we shall be clothed, because we must 
rise conformable to the glorious body 
of Jesus Christ. 

These, then, are some of the at- 
tributes of a spiritual body. They 
are evidently the natural properties 
of spirits. But God will clothe the 
bodies of his children with them, as a 
reward for their love of Him and the 
holy lives they have led in this world. 

* John XX. 26. 
11^ 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE IMPASSIBILITY AND IMMORTALITY 
OF THE RISE]^ BODY. 

BESIDES the attributes which im- 
mediately flow from the fact that 
our animal bodies will rise spiritual- 
ized, there are two more qualities, which 
we shall now consider; namely, the im- 
passibility and immortality of our risen 
bodies. 

1. Impassibility implies the total loss 
of the power of sufiering. What an 
enormous capacity we have for sufier- 
ing ! The power of receiving pleasure 
through our senses is only as a drop in 
the ocean, when compared to our mani- 

126 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 127 

fold capacities for suffering, in every 
faculty of the soul, in every organ, 
member, and nerve of our frame. 
Every one of them is susceptible of 
tortures, which, while endured, make 
the enjoyment of life and its pleasures 
impossible. A violent headache or a 
burning fever drives a man almost to 
distraction, and destroys any pleasure 
he might otherwise experience. What 
consolation, therefore, to think that 
this body of suffering shall rise im- 
passible ! No more disease ; no more 
pain or pang ; no more suffering either 
of mind or body; for we shall enter a 
new world from which suffering is for- 
ever banished. St. John had a glimpse 
of this new world, when he said : '^ And 
I saw a new heaven and a new earth. 
For the first heaven and the first earth 



128 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

were gone. . . . And I heard a great 
voice from the throne, saying : Behold 
the tabernacle of God with men, and 
He shall dwell with them. . . . And 
God shall wipe away all the tears from 
their eyes : and death shall be no more, 
nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow 
shall be any more, for the former things 
are passed away." * 

It was the thought of rising in glory, 
with a body free from suffering, that 
gave comfort to the holy man Job when 
the storm of adversity had burst upon 
him. Listen to his beautiful words : 
" I know that my Redeemer liveth, 
and in the last day, I shall rise out of 
the earth. And I shall be clothed 
again with my skin, and in my flesh 
I shall see my God. Whom I myself 

^ Apoc. xxi. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 129 

shall see, and not another. This my 
hope is laid up in my bosom." ^ Lay 
up that hope in your bosom as he did, 
and when the storm of adversity bursts 
upon you, the thought of rising in a 
glorified, impassible body, and in a 
new world, will give you patience and 
resignation. 

But rising with the gift of impassi- 
bility does not mean that our bodies 
will be unfeeling as marble statues. 
It only means that they shall be free 
from the power of suffering; but that 
does not exclude the power of receiv- 
ing pleasure. Glory does not destroy 
nature, but perfects it. The bodies of 
the blessed will remain sensible to im- 
pressions from suitable objects, and, ac- 
cording to St. Thomas, the blessed will 

^ Job xix. 
I 



130 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

use their senses for enjoyment in all 
that is not repugnant to a state of in- 
corruption.* 

2. We now come to consider the 
crowning glory of all the glorious 
supernatural attributes wherewith God 
will clothe our bodies on the last day. 
I say it is the crowning glory. For 
the splendor of form, the vigor of 
youth, arid the complete perfection of 
our human nature ■ — which are all in- 
cluded in the promise of rising com- 

* . . . . Et corpus igitur perfectum per animam pro- 
portionabiliter animse, immune erit ab omni malo, et. 
quantum ad actum, et quantum ad potentiam : quan- 
tum ad actum quidem, quia nulla erit in eis corruptio, 
nulla deformitas, nullus defectus ; quantum ad poten- 
tiam vero, quia non poterunt aliquid pati quod sit eis 
molestum, et propter hoc impassibilia erunt ; quae 
tamen impassibilitas non excludit ab eis passionem 
quae est de ratione sensus ; utentur enim sensibus ad 
delectationem secundum ilia quae statui incorruptionis 
non repugnant. — S. Thorn., Cont. gent., lib. 4, c. 86. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 131 

formable to the glorified body of Jesus 
Christ — would scarcely be worth work- 
ing for or possessing, unless they were 
accompanied with the promise of in- 
corruptibility. Indeed, of what use 
would be the rising with the bloom of 
youth and health on our cheek, and in 
perfect beauty of form, if time could 
again destroy them — as in this world! 
But there is no danger that the de- 
stroyer will ever enter our heavenly 
home. Listen to St. Paul. Speaking 
again of the body, he says: "It is 
sown in corruption, it shall rise in in- 
corruption." ^ 

Our bodies, as now constituted, are 
corruptible by their very nature. The 
elements of matter which compose them 
are held together by the laws of .Ufe, 

* 1 Cor. XV 42. 



132 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

and not by their natural affinities. 
Hence, from the very first moment of 
our existence to our death, there is a 
continual struggle between the laws of 
life and those that govern inorganic 
matter. For a time, vigorous young 
life claims the supremacy, and the 
body grows to its degree of beauty and 
strength attainable in this world. But 
full soon the laws of decay and cor- 
ruption begin to assert their empire. 
Beauty of feature and form gradually 
fade away; elasticity of limb gives 
way to the decrepitude of old age, and 
finally the whole frame becomes a 
burden under which nature groans and 
totters, until it falls into the gloomy 
grave, where corruption destroys every 
remaining vestige of beauty, and even 
of the human form. On the resurrec- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 133 

tion day, we not only shall rise in 
splendor and perfection of form, but 
we shall also be transferred to another 
world, whose laws are in perfect har- 
mony with the laws of life, and into 
which corruption shall never enter. 

In the present world, we already see 
things which, as far as we know na- 
ture's laws, are incorruptible. The 
diamond, for instance, is the most in- 
corruptible of all known substances; 
and unless the now existing laws of 
nature should change, the splendid 
Koh-i-noor and other diamonds will 
glitter as brilliantly as they now do, 
when the angel sounds the trumpet to 
announce to the world that time shall 
be no more. These beautiful gems are 
therefore a faint image of our glorified 
bodies, which shall not only rise in 

12 



134 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

perfection of form, but shall also be 
totally incorruptible. They shall for- 
ever be beyond the reach of death, de- 
cay, or corruption, resplendent in them- 
selves, and increasing the very beauty 
of heaven, as sparkling gems enhance 
the beauty of a royal crown. 

Yes, this vile and corruptible body 
must be changed into an incorruptible 
one. It must rise like the body of 
Jesus Christ, who, " rising again from 
the dead, dieth no more ; death shall 
no more have dominion over Him." * 
According to the beautiful and forci- 
ble words of the Apostle : " This cor- 
ruptible must put on incorruption ; and 
this mortal must put on immortality. 
And when this mortal hath put on im- 
mortality, then shall come to pass the 

^ Rom. vi. 9. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 135 

saying that is written : Death is swal- 
lowed up in victory. O death, where 
is thy victory ? O death, where is thy 
sting ? " * 

These, then, are some of the super- 
natural gifts wherewith God will clothe 
the bodies of the just on the last day. 
They are so great in themselves, that 
it would almost seem they should be 
worth working for even if there were 
no Beatific Vision. Yet, if taken sep- 
arately, they are, so to speak, the mere 
external ornaments and finish of the 
happiness which heart of man cannot 
conceive. These glorious attributes of 
the risen body perfect and complete 
the happiness of man. As the soul 
and body reunited in glory form one 
human creature, so the happiness of the 

* 1 Cor. XV. 53. 



136 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

soul and body is one. After the resur- 
rection, the beatitude of heaven can no 
longer be separated into the happiness 
of the soul in the Beatific Vision, and 
then the pleasures of the body through 
the glorified senses, as if there were two 
distinct beatitudes, or as if the soul 
and body were two distinct individuals. 
Whatever happiness comes from the 
union of the soul with God in the 
Beatific Vision, and whatever pleasures 
may reach the soul through the glori- 
fied senses, or from our communion 
with the saints, or the contemplation 
of the sacred humanity of Jesus Christ, 
the Blessed Virgin Mary, and other 
saints, it is all one happiness enjoyed 
by our human nature, which is one. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SEVERAL ERRORS TO BE AVOIDED IN 
OUR MEDITATIONS ON HEAVEN. 

NOW that the soul is again clothed 
in her body, glorified after the 
likeness of Christ's body, other pleas- 
ures and joys, besides those we have 
already contemplated in the Beatific 
Vision, claim our attention. They are 
the pleasures of the glorified senses, 
which, along with the Beatific Vision, 
are to gratify every rational appetite 
and craving of our human nature. 
And thus the whole man, in soul and 
body, will enjoy the complete happi- 
ness of heaven. But, in order to form 

12^ 137 



138 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

a correct idea of these additional pleas- 
ures of the glorified senses, or rather 
of the integral happiness of heaven, 
we must be on our guard against 
several errors into which very good 
and even spiritual persons may easily 
fall. 

The first error consists in ignor- 
ing or making little of the Beatific 
Vision, after the resurrection, and let- 
ting our mind pass from creature to 
creature, gathering exquisite pleasures 
from each, until practically we make 
man's happiness in heaven come al- 
most exclusively from creatures. This 
is, substantially, the view which Pro- 
testants take of heaven. They have 
written books on the subject, in which 
they speak eloquently and even learn- 
edly on the joys involved in the mutual 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 139 

recognition of friends and kindred, on 
the delights we shall enjoy in our social 
intercourse with the saints and angels, 
in the music that shall ravish our very 
souls, and other things of that nature. 
In a word, they maintain, as well as we 
do, that, in heaven, man will enjoy 
every possible intellectual, moral, and 
sensible pleasure, and that nothing will 
be wanting to make him perfectly 
happy in his whole being. 

Here is the Protestant view of heaven. 
It is certainly far from being gross or 
carnal. It may even, at first sight, ap- 
pear not to differ from that which is 
taught by the Catholic Church. But, 
on closer examination, the difference 
becomes apparent. In the Protestant 
view of heaven, the Beatific Vision is 
either entirely ignored, or, if mentioned 



140 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

at all, it is explained so as to mean 
next to nothing ; at least, it does not 
appear to add anything to the exquisite 
happiness already enjoyed in creatures. 
In their view heaven is really nothing 
more than a natural beatitude, such as 
might have been enjoyed even in this 
world, if Adam had not sinned. 

We must, therefore, be on our guard 
against any view of heaven which 
would make its principal happiness 
come from creatures. We must ever 
remember that no creature, either here 
or hereafter, can give perfect happiness 
to man. Wherefore, in our meditations 
on heaven, we must beware of making 
its chief happiness consist in delightful 
music, social intercourse with the saints, 
or in the pleasures enjoyed through the 
glorified senses, however pure and re- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 141 

fined we may imagine them to be. 
This, then, is the first error to be 
avoided, and with much care ; not only 
because it is untrue, but because also it 
lowers the beatitude of heaven, which 
consists essentially in the vision, love, 
and enjoyment of God himself. 

The second error to be avoided con- 
sists in placing the whole happiness 
of man so completely and exclusively 
in the Beatific Vision, that neither the 
resurrection of the body with its glori- 
ous gifts, nor the communion of saints, 
nor heavenly music, nor any other crea- 
ture, can increase the happiness already 
enjoyed by the soul in the possession of 
God. In this extreme and exclusive 
view of the Beatific Vision, man is so 
completely absorbed in God, and so 
perfectly happy in Him, that the whole 



142 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

creation is to him as if it were not ; and 
if he were the only man ever created, 
or the only one in heaven, his joys 
would be precisely the same as they 
are, now that he is surrounded with 
angels, saints, and other creatures of 
God. 

They who hold such extreme views 
may be very holy persons; but their 
opinions are far from being in accord- 
ance with sound theology. They re- 
mind us of those unskilful guides who 
taught St. Theresa that, in order to 
reach the most perfect contemplation 
in this world, we must raise our minds 
so completely above every creature, 
''that although it should be even the 
humanity of Christ, it is still some im- 
pediment for those who have advanced 
so far in spirituality, and that it hin- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 143 

ders them from applying to the most 
perfect contemplation/' It is almost 
needless to add that she soon discovered 
this to be a very dangerous error, and, 
as may be seen in the twenty-second 
chapter of her life, she expresses the 
deepest regret for haying, even for a 
moment, entertained such an opinion. 
So will these persons of whom I speak 
discover their error, if they view the 
whole happiness of heaven, as it is 
taught by sound theology. Let us, 
then, see what theology ^teaches on the 
resurrection of the body, as increasing 
the happiness of the blessed, and on 
the accidental beatitude which comes 
to man from creatures. 

1. It. teaches, first, that the resurrec- 
tion is not a mere accidental glory, 
which may or may not be given to the 



144 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

just, but that it is an essential element 
of man's happiness.* The soul of 
Abraham, for instance, that is now 
united to God in the Beatific Vision, 
is not, properly speaking, Abraham 
himself, but only a part of him. In 
order, therefore, to be perfect accord- 

* Anima corpori naturaliter unitur ; est enim secun- 
dum suam essentiam corporis forma ; est igitur contra 
naturam animae absque corpore esse. Nihil autem 
quod est contra naturam potest esse perpetuum . . . 
oportet earn (animam) corpori iterate conjungi, quod 
est resurgere. — Sum. contr. gent., lib, 4, cap. 79. 

.... Ad secundum, dicendum quod anima Abrahae 
non est propria loquiendo ipse Abraham, sed pars ejus, 
et sic de aliis. Unde vita animse Abrahae non suf- 
ficeret ad hoc quod Abraham sit vivens, vel quod Deus 
Abraham sit Deus viventis : sed exigitur vita totius 
conjuncti, scilicet animae et corporis, quae quidem 
vita quamvis non esset in actu, quando verba pro- 
ponebantur, erat tamen in ordine utriusque partis ad 
resurrectionem : unde Dominus per verba ilia sub- 
tilissime et efficaciter resurrectionem probat. — ^S'. 
Thorn., Suppl., q. 75, art. 1. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 145 

ing to her nature, that soul must again 
be clothed with her own body of real 
flesh and blood, so that Abraham may 
again be a living man, and that God 
may be called, in the fullest sense of 
the word, " the God of the living." 
Evidently the same must be said of 
every other soul now basking in the 
light of God's countenance. 

We are not angels, but men. An 
angel is a superior being, and of a differ- 
ent order from us. He is a spirit, and 
complete as such without a body. But 
the human soul, although a spirit too, 
is not perfect without a body ; for, as 
such, she is only a part of the being 
called man. Besides, it is not the soul 
alone that is to enjoy the happiness 
of heaven ; it is man. And as he is 
composed of both soul and body, it is 

13 K 



146 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

necessary that the soul should agaiu 
be clothed with her body, so that man 
may be placed in the enjoyment of 
heaven's happiness in his whole being. 
2. Theology teaches, in the second 
place, that the happiness of the blessed 
is increased by the resurrection, be- 
cause the soul is enabled to receive 
new pleasures by her reunion with a 
glorified body. And, first, the human 
soul, which is not only intellectual, but 
also sensitive, receives those organs by 
which she is again enabled to exercise 
her imagination, and other faculties of 
her emotional or sensitive nature ; all 
of which are sources of great enjoyment. 
Secondly, by her reunion with the 
body, she is again empowered to re- 
ceive pleasure through the glorified 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 147 

senses. Thirdly, the soul is made 
more perfect in all her operations by 
her reunion with a glorified body."^ 
The human body as now constituted, 
or rather as injured by sin, does not, 
it is true, always perfect the soul 
in her operations ; it rather impedes 
her, at least in many of them. 

*. . . Si ergo a corpore removeatur omne illud per 
quod action! animsBresistit, simpliciter erit anima per- 
fectior in tali corpore existens quam separata : quanto 
autem perfectius in esse, tanto perfectius potest ope- 
rari. Unde et operatio animae conjunctae tali corpori 
erit perfectior quam operatio animae separatee. Hu- 
jusmodi autem corpus erit gloriosum, quod omnino 
subdetur spirltui : Unde cum beatitudo in operatione 
consistat, perfectior erit beatitudo animae post y^- 
sumptionem corporis quam ante. — aS'. Thorn., Siq^pl. /. 
93, art. 1. 



148 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Hence, the Wise Man tells us that 
" The corruptible body is a load upon 
the soul, and the earthly habitation 
presseth down the mind that museth 
many things.'"^ If, therefore, a glo- 
rified soul were reunited to such a body, 
undoubtedly her operations would not 
be made more perfect than they are in 
her separate state. But it is not to be 
so. The soul is to be reunited to a 
glorified body, that will be entirely 
subject to the spirit, and will, in con- 
sequence, perfect all its intellectual 
operations, its moral affections, and 
every other act which, according to its 
nature, it can perform. 

But, perhaps, some may say : Will 
not the Vision of God, at least, be less- 
ened or obscured by the reunion of the 

^ Wis. ix. 15. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 149 

soul to a material body ? It certainly 
will not. If the Vision of the Divine 
Essence could be obscured by the risen 
body, then, as Suarez wisely observes, 
the resurrection would be a punish- 
ment to the just, rather than a reward. 
Hence, he maintains that even the 
Beatific Vision is more perfect after 
the resurrection than it was before. 
This becomes evident when we remem- 
ber that the Beatific Vision consists of 
the three human acts of knowledge, 
love, and enjoyment of God. These 
acts are evidently more perfect after the 
resurrection, since the human soul acts 
more perfectly in union with a glori- 
fied body than when separated from it. 
It follows, then, that even the essential 
beatitude of the saints is both increased 
and perfected by the resurrection of 

13* 



150 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

the body. Let us now see what the- 
ology teaches about accidental glory. 

3, It teaches that accidental glory 
is any perfection of supernatural beati- 
tude coming to the blessed from any 
object outside of the Beatific Vision, 
that is, from creatures. Thus, when 
our Blessed Lord tells us that " There 
shall be joy in heaven upon one sinner 
doing penance," "^ He manifestly speaks 
of a new joy which comes to the blessed 
from an object outside of the Beatific 
Vision. So then, evidently, some of 
heaven's joys do come from creatures, 
though, ultimately, we may say, they 
all come from God. 

In this world, we receive a portion 
of our light from the moon ; but that 
light is still from the sun, because the 

■^ Luke XV. 7. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 151 

moon has no light of her own. She is a 
mere reflector, or instrument by which, 
during the night, the sun conveys to 
us a portion of his light. So in heaven. 
God is the only source of happiness 
and joy ; and no creature is or can be 
a source of happiness independently 
of Him. But He can and does make 
use of creatures to adorn, perfect, and 
complete the happiness of the whole 
man.* 

^ Beatitude accidentalis, proprie et generatim lo- 
quendo, est quaelibet beati perfectio supernaturalis 
quae versatur circa aliquid quod est extra objectum 
beatificum, prout beatificum est. . . . Quia nulla est 
essentia creata quas non egeat aliquo accidente ad 
consummationem sua6 perfectionis. Essentialis autem 
beatitude est quid creatum ; ergo ornatur accidentibus. 
Et sicut essentialis beatitudo consistit in operatione, 
ita et hoec accidentalis. Jam vero, istius accidentalis 
beatitudinis causa, sen praemii accidentalis meritum 
provenit ex bonis operibus, quae dum merentur prge- 
mium seu beatitudinem essentialem, etiam simul me- 



152 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Nevertheless, though this accidental 
glory comes to the blessed from crea- 
tures, it is radically contained in the 
essential, and is given with the essen- 
tial as one reward, and not as two. 
For there are not two beatitudes in 
heaven. There is only one, which 
comprises both the essential and the 
accidental. It is true, we make a dis- 
tinction between them, because the one 
comes immediately from God, while 
the other comes from creatures. But 
it does not, in the least, follow that this 
last is of little use or to be despised. 
Considering the needs of our nature, 
which is not destroyed, but perfected 

rentur accidentalem tamquam proprietatem in essen- 
tial! radicaliter contentam. . . . Ita qui meretur beati- 
tudinem essentialem, simul meretur accidentalem, et 
utramque per modum unius praemi". — Suarez. de Beat, 
disput. 11. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 153 

in heaven, accidental glory is necessary 
to perfect and complete the blessed- 
ness of God's children, and to gratify 
every rational craving of human na- 
ture. 

Thus the crown of the virgins — 
who sing a canticle that no one else 
can sing, and who follow the Lamb 
whithersoever He goeth — is a mere 
accidental glory ; and yet it is one so 
much prized that many have given 
life itself, amidst the most cruel tor- 
ments, in order to enjoy it. Thus 
again, our social intercourse with the 
saints, and the pure joys resulting there- 
from, the meeting of our kindred and 
friends in heaven, the ravishing music 
which resounds through the vaults of 
heaven, the pleasures of the glorified 
senses — these and a thousand other 



154 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

joys are the accidental beatitude with 
which God perfects and completes the 
happiness of the whole man. 

The third error which we shall now 
examine flows naturally from the mis- 
taken and exclusive views which some 
persons take of the Beatific Vision. 
They imagine that the vision of God 
will so completely absorb and monop- 
olize every faculty of man, that, practi- 
cally, he will become motionless and 
inactive as a statue. There can be no 
greater mistake. It is true that our 
union with God, in the Beatific Vision, 
is happiness and joj^, greater than 
mortal man can conceive ; but it by 
no means follows that it will hinder 
the free exercise of our mental facul- 
ties, or the activities of our glorified 
bodies. Indeed, the very reverse will 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 155 

take place ; for glory does not destroy 
nature, but perfects it. 

We are active by nature. Action, 
therefore, both of mind and body, is 
a law of our being, which cannot be 
changed, without radically changing, 
or rather destroying our whole nature. 
As glory perfects our whole nature, in- 
stead of destroying it, it follows that in 
heaven we shall be far more active 
than we can possibly be here below ; 
for there all our powers will exist in 
their highest perfection. Therefore, 
the intellect, elevat^ed and strengthened 
by the light of glory, will continue to 
think and to contemplate the truth ; 
for such is the natural action of the 
human intellect. Thus, also, the will, 
which is the loving power of the soul, 
shall continue forever to love : for its 



156 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

natural action is to love the good, the 
beautiful, and the perfect. The mem- 
ory, also, will forever continue to re- 
call the many graces received from 
God, thus keeping alive a deep sense 
of gratitude for His benefits ; while the 
imagination will still continue to make 
to itself new and captivating pictures 
of beauty. Thus, also, the eye will 
continue to see material objects ; for 
such is the natural action of that organ. 
The ear will continue to hear delight- 
ful sounds, and the whole body will 
continue to receive pleasurable sensa- 
tions, and to perform all other actions 
which are natural to it, if we except 
those that belong to the animal life 
of man ; for, as we have already seen, 
such actions are incompatible with a 
life and state of incorruption. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 157 

The soul of Jesus Christ enjoyed the 
Beatific Vision, even while here on 
earth in mortal flesh. Was He, on 
that account, prevented from doing 
anything, except contemplating the 
Divine Essence ? He certainly was not. 
He labored and preached ; he ate, 
drank, and slept; he visited his friends, 
and did a thousand other things, with- 
out losing sight of the Divine Nature."^ 

■^ Ad quartum dicendum, quando unum duorum est 
ratio alterius, occupatio animse circa unum non im- 
pedit nee remittit occupationem ejus circa aliud. . . . 
Et quia Deus apprehenditur a Sanctis ut ratio omnium 
qu8e ab eis agentur vel cognoscentur : ideo occupatio 
eorum circa sensibilia et sentienda, vel quaecumque 
alia contemplanda aut agenda, in nullo impediet divi- 
nam contemplationem, nee e converse. Vel dicendum 
quod ideo una potentia impeditur in actu suo quando 
alia vehementer operatur, quia una potentia de se non 
sufficit ad tam intensam operationem, nisi ei subvenia- 
tur per id quod erat aliis potentiis vel membris insti- 
tuendum a principle vitae : et quia erunt in Sanctis 
14 



158 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Moreover, if the Beatific Vision is 
to overpower us, suspend our activities, 
and change us into statues, what would 
be the use of bestowing upon us the 
gift of agility? As we have seen, by 
that wonderful gift we shall be em- 
powered to transport ourselves, with 
the rapidity of thought, to the most 
distant parts of God's universe. Is 
such a power to be given as a reward 
to God's cbildren, and then rendered 
totally inactive and useless? We 
might as well say that though we shall 
have eyes, we shall not see. Where- 
fore, St. Thomas r maintains that the 
blessed will go from place to place, ac- 
cording to their will, to exercise the 

omnes potentipe perfectissimae, una poterit ita intense 
operari, quod ex hoc nullum impedimentum prsestabi- 
tur action! alterius potentige ; sicut et in Christo fuit. 
— S, Thorn., Suppl, q. 82, art 3. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 159 

power of agility which they have re- 
ceived, and to enjoy the beauty of 
God's creatures, which eminently re- 
flect the divine wisdom."^ Nor shall 
they, on this account, lose anything of 
their essential happiness, which con- 
sists in the vision of God, for they will 
find Him everywhere present. 

From all this sound theology it is 
evident that our union with God in 

^ Respondeo dicendum, quod corpora gloriosa ali- 
quando moveri necesse est ponere. . . . Verisimile est 
quod aliquando movebuntur pro suaB libitu voluntatis, 
ut illud quod habent virtute actu exercentes, divinam 
sapientiam commendabilem ostendant ; et ut etiam 
visus eorum reficiatur pulchritudine creaturarum 
diversarum, in quibus Dei sapientia eminenter re- 
lucebit. Sensus autem non potest esse nisi prsesen- 
tium, quamvis magis a longinquo sentire possint cor- 
pora gloriosa, quam non gloriosa: nee tamen per 
motum aliquid deperibit eorum beatitudini quae con- 
sistit in Dei visione, quern ubique praesentem babe- 
bunt.— ,S^. Thorn., Suppl, q. 84, art. 2. 



160 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

the Beatific Vision, far from suspend- 
ing or destroying the activities of our 
nature, will rather increase and perfect 
them. It will do so, first, by taking 
away from soul and body whatever 
now makes us sluggish ; and, secondly, 
by adding to our now existing faculties 
supernatural powers, which will give to 
our nature its highest degree of perfec- 
tion and similitude to God, who is all 
activity. 

We must be careful to remember all 
this ; otherwise it will be impossible 
for us ever to understand how the 
saints can possibly enjoy each other's 
society, rejoice at the conversion of 
sinners, listen to delightful music, 
enjoy the pleasures of the glorified 
senses, and otherwise exercise all the 
faculties and powers of their nature. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 161 

The little glimpse of heaven given in 
the Apocalypse, certainly does not re- 
present the saints and angels as inac- 
tive statues. On the contrary, all is 
life and a wonderful activity. 

We are now prepared to meditate 
upon the integral happiness of heaven, 
which includes the resurrection of the 
body. This is the happiness which is 
to gratify every rational appetite of 
man. 




14^ 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE LIFE OF THE BLESSED IN 
HEAVEN. 

HAVING examined the glorious 
gifts with which the risen body 
is clothed, and seen that it perfects the 
soul in all her operations ; understand- 
ing, moreover, that the glorified senses 
are to contribute their share to the 
happiness of man — we shall now con- 
sider the happy life of the blessed in 
heaven, including the resurrection. 
But, remember, it is not a new life 
that is now to occupy our thoughts. 
It is a continuation of the same life 
that was begun the moment the vision 

162 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 163 

of God flashed upon the soul. This 
heavenly life, which was enjoyed by 
the soul alone before the resurrection, 
is now enjoyed by the whole man, in 
its fulness and perfection. 

If you dig in a dry and barren 
spot, and happen to strike a vein of 
living water, it bubbles up, overflows, 
and moistens the surrounding earth, 
clothing it with beautiful verdure and 
smiling flowers. So it is in the resur- 
rection. The life which had been con- 
centrated in the soul alone, overflows 
to the body, giving to it life, beauty, 
and glory, and causing it to thrill with 
inexpressible pleasure. The Beatific 
Vision, which was the essential happi* 
ness of the soul before the resurrection, 
is now the essential happiness of man. 

In our meditations on the life of 



164 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Christ, we make ourselves present to 
the mysteries we are contemplating. 
We do not look upon them as past, but 
as actually taking place under our eyes. 
Thus we see Jesus lying in a manger ; 
we see Him flying into Egypt, dis- 
puting with the doctors in the temple; 
we see Him laboring, preaching, and 
dying upon the cross. We shall en- 
deavor to do the same in our medita- 
tions on the life of the blessed. 

Let us, then, transport ourselves in 
spirit to that great day, which St. John 
saw, when a mighty angel, coming down 
from heaven, stood upon the land and 
sea, and, lifting up his hand on high, 
swore by Him who liveth forever and 
ever, that "time should be no more." 
Then, says St. John, "I saw the dead, 
great and small, standing in the pres- 



THE HAPPINESS OV HEAVEN. 165 

ence of the throne, and the books were 
opened, and the dead were judged by 
those things which were written in the 
books. . . . And I heard a great voice 
from the throne, saying : Behold the 
tabernacle of God with men, and He 
will dwell with them, and they shall 
be His people ; and God himself shall 
be their God. And He that sat upon 
the throne said: Behold I make all 
things new. "^ 

Here is a new order of things, in a 
new world — a world of beauty and 
perfection inconceivably greater than 
the one wherein we now live. This is 
the world in which we are to live the 
life of the blessed. In this chapter, 
we shall examine five of its most 
prominent attributes. 

* Apoc. XX. 



166 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

1. First, it is a life of peace. When 
Jesus was born, the angels sang : 
" Glory to God in the highest, and on 
earth, peace to men of good will." And 
when He arose from the dead, his first 
words to the Apostles were : " Peace be 
to you." But, though the peace He 
wished and gave was great ; it was not, 
and, in the existing order of things, 
could not be perfect. For they still 
had to battle against the world, the 
devil, and the flesh. But in heaven 
that peace is perfect, because it flows 
immediately from the bosom of God 
himself. Besides, none of those things- 
which in this world disturb our peace, 
can ever enter the kingdom of peace. 

We now have perfect peace with 
God, of whose love for us we no longer 
doubt, as we may have often done 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEK. 167 

when on earth. We also have peace 
with ourselves; for those unruly pas- 
sions which formerly disturbed our 
peace, no longer exist in our glorified 
bodies. We enjoy perfect peace with 
our neighbor; for conflicting interests, 
envies, and jealousies, which gave rise 
to dissensions and enmities, have not 
found and never will find their way 
into heaven. We also have peace 
from the devil, who no longer " goeth 
about like a roaring lion, seeking 
whom he may devour." He has found 
no admittance into the kingdom of 
peace. We also have peace from our 
past life ; for the sins which so often 
made us tremble, are washed away in 
the blood of Jesus, and are, therefore, 
no longer a source of trouble. The re- 
membrance of them rather intensifies 



168 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

our love for the God of mercy, and tht.re* 
fore increases our happiness. We now, 
also, have peace from our future. That 
awful future was formerly shrouded in 
impenetrable darkness, and often filled 
us with gloomy forebodings. But now 
the judgment is over ; we have heard 
the consoling sentence : '' Come j^e, 
blessed of my Father, possess the 
kingdom prepared for you, from the 
foundation of the world." We now 
gaze undismaj^ed into that bright out- 
spread eternity, wherein we see no- 
thing that can ever disturb our peace. 
The wish and pra3^er of St. Paul, ex- 
pressed to the first Christians, is now 
completely fulfilled in us : " And the 
peace of God which surpasseth all un- 
derstanding, keep your hearts and 
minds in Christ Jesus." ^ 

* Phil. iv. 7. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEX. 169 

This, then, is the first feature of 
heavenly life, and, as is evident, this 
peace is absolutely necessary to enjoy 
the life itself, and whatever else of 
happiness is in store for the children 
of God. 

2. The life of heaven is one of rest. 
St. John says : ''' And I heard a voice 
from heaven, saying to me. Write : 
Blessed are they that die in the Lord. 
From henceforth now, saith the Spirit, 
that they may rest from their labors.'"^ 
This is one of the most captivating 
features of heavenly life for the poor, 
and for all others who labored much 
in this world. It also gives the most 
exquisite consolation to those who, on 
account of peculiar difficulties in the 
practice of virtue, have been fatigued 

^ Apoc. xiv. 
15 



170 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

and wearied almost unto death. Their 
whole spiritual life was one of contin- 
ual labor and struggle, which at times 
so disheartened them, that they felt 
strongly tempted to give up all further 
attempt at Christian perfection, and to 
seek consolation and rest in the pleas- 
ures of this world. Oh, how happy 
they now are ! How grateful to God, 
who gave them the grace of final per- 
severance ! They now enter into their 
rest, which shall never more be dis- 
turbed by toil or struggle. They now 
live a life of everlasting rest, though 
not one of inactivity. For, as we have 
already seen, the life of heaven is not 
one of inactivity, but one in which 
every energy of mind and body has its 
full and free action. As our life in 
heaven is a participation of the life of 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN* 171 

God himself, it must resemble that 
Divine Life, which, while it is ineffa- 
ble rest, is ever active and operative 
in the creation, conservation, and gov- 
ernment, not only of our own world, 
but of those millions of other worlds 
that shine above our heads. Never- 
theless, this continual exercise of our 
manifold faculties in heaven, does not, 
as in this world, generate fatigue, 
weariness, or disgust ; but is the never- 
failing source of the highest and most 
rational pleasure. 

What a consoling thought this is for 
the poor ! They labor much, and for 
scanty wages, which, in many instances, 
scarcely suffice to keep themselves and 
families from starvation. What a con- 
solation also for persons who have de- 
voted themselves to God in religious 



172 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

communities ! By their vows they be- 
came poor for Christ's sake, and, like 
Him, they labored much. The wear 
and tear of the religious life deprived 
many of their health and strength; 
and yet they continue to labor as if 
they were in full vigor. Their day of 
rest has come at last. Their beloved 
Spouse has called them to himself, that 
they might rest from their labors. The 
last words of the Church over them is 
a solemn prayer for that heavenly rest : 
" Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord. 
And let everlasting light shine upon 
them. May they rest in peace." Here 
is the end of all labor, struggle, and 
fatigue. Here is the beginning of a 
life of eternal, undisturbed repose. 

3. The life of heaven is also one of 
intellectual pleasure. We saw, in a 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 173 

former chapter, that man's intellect is 
filled to overflowing with all knowl- 
edge in the vision of God. We must 
now say a few words on the exquisite 
and pure pleasures which this knowl- 
edge produces. 

Intellectual pleasures are, perhaps, 
the least generally known of all those 
which our nature can enjoy. For the 
great majority of the human race is 
made up of the poor, who are com- 
pelled to spend their lives in toiling 
for food and raiment. They are, in 
consequence, unable to develop their 
mental faculties and to enjoy high 
intellectual pleasures. And yet these 
pleasures are the highest, the most 
rational and satisfying which man can 
enjoy; because they are produced by 

15^ 



174 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

the exercise of the intellect, which is 
the noblest faculty of the soul. 

Men of highly cultivated minds, 
such as theologians, philosophers, as- 
tronomers, mathematicians, and lite- 
rary men, separate themselves from 
the world and its pleasures; they spend 
the day, and a great part of the night, 
in study, in the contemplation of the 
truth ; they even forget to eat and 
drink, and must be compelled by their 
friends to attend to the necessities of 
nature. Many of them have com- 
pletely ruined their health by study ; 
and some of them, as Democritus the 
philosopher, are reported to have even 
plucked out their eyes, that they might 
have less distraction, and thereby be 
enabled to meditate more profoundly 
upon the truths of their re^^pective 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 175 

sciences. Now, I ask, is it in our 
nature to go through such terrible self- 
denials without compensation ? Surely 
it is not. Therefore, the natural infer- 
ence is that knowledge is a source of 
the most exquisite pleasures. 

If it is so, in this world, where the 
curse of sin has darkened the mind, 
and where knowledge is so limited, 
and so mingled with error and doubt, 
what shall we say of those pleasures in 
heaven ? There the intellect of man 
receives a supernatural light ; it is ele- 
vated far above itself by the light of 
glory ; it is purified, strengthened, en- 
larged, and enabled to see God as He 
is in His very essence. It is enabled 
to contemplate, face to face. Him who 
is the first essential Truth. It gazes un- 
dazzled upon the first infinite beauty, 



176 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

wisdom, and goodness, from whom flow 
all limited wisdom, beauty, and good- 
ness found in creatures. Who can 
fathom the exquisite pleasures of the 
human mtellect when it thus sees all 
truth as it is in itself? This is one of 
heaven's secrets which we shall never 
fully understand, except when united 
to God in the Beatific Vision. Never- 
theless, if ever we have enjoyed the 
pleasures produced by the perusal of 
a highly intellectual work, or felt the 
irresistible fascinations of some favorite 
science, we can, it seems, form some 
distant conception of intellectual pleas- 
ures in heaven. 

4. The life of heaven is also one of 
love. As we have seen before, man 
cannot rest satisfied with the mere con- 
templation of truth and beauty, how- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 177 

ever pleasurable and satisfying such a 
contemplation may be. His will im- 
mediately seizes upon the truth and 
beauty presented by the intellect, and 
loves with an intensity proportioned 
to the perfection of the object pre- 
sented. Now, as God himself, in His 
unveiled majesty, is the object pre- 
sented to the will, and as He is the 
most perfect of all beings, it follows 
that the will loves, in heaven, with an 
ardor, an intensity whereof we can 
form but a faint conception in our 
present state of trial. 

There, at last, do the blessed fulfil 
to perfection the law which commands 
us to love God with our whole heart, 
with our whole soul, with all our 
strength, with all our mind — and our 
neighbor as ourselves. Not only does 

M 



178 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

each one of the blessed love, but he 
sees himself loved in return both by 
the Almighty and by every one of the 
saints. This makes heaven a life of 
love, and consequently one of perfect 
happiness. 

Think of this, ye mortals, who crave 
after human love. You desire to love 
and to be loved. Love is the sunshine 
of your lives. But, do what you will, 
it can never give you perfect happiness 
here below ; for when you have, at 
last, succeeded in possessing the object 
after which you so ardently sighed, 
you discover in it imperfections which 
you had not suspected before ; and 
these lessen your happiness. But sup- 
pose, even, that you are of the few who 
are as happy as they expected to be, 
how long will your blessedness last? 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 179 

A few years, at most. Then, death, 
with a merciless hand, tears away from 
you the objects of your love. Is not 
this the end of all earthly happiness ? 

Look up to heaven, and there see 
the blessed in the presence of God. 
They are as happy to-day in their love 
as theywerehundredsof years ago; and 
when millions of ages have rolled by, 
they shall still possess the object of 
their love, which is the Eternal God. 
Thus the blessed live a life of love, 
and, consequently, one of perfect hap- 
piness. 

5. The life of heaven is, moreover, 
one of perfect enjoyment. In this 
world, there can be no perfect and 
lasting enjoyment; and this not only 
because creatures have not the power 
of giving perfect happiness, but also 



180 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

because our powers of enjoyment are 
imperfect in themselves, and because 
also our bosom swarms with ungov- 
erned passions, which spread the gall 
of bitterness over our joys. How 
many thousands are there not, for 
whom fortune smiles in vain ! How 
many are there not, who, though sur- 
rounded with untold wealth, are never- 
theless more wretched than the tattered 
beggar ! One, for instance, is always 
suffering from bad health, and hence 
he cannot enjoy the pleasures which 
fortune has placed within his reach. 
Another is not only wealthy, but is, 
moreover, elevated to some honorable 
position, and one would think he must 
enjoy the honors with which he is 
surrounded ; but there is in his bosom 
an ungoverned passion, which, like a^ 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 181 

canker - worm, eats away his joys one 
by one. 

Holy Scripture gives us a striking 
instance of this in the person of Haman. 
He had been highly exalted by King 
Assuerus ; and the servants of the king 
bent the knee before him, and wor- 
shipped him, " only Mardochai did not 
bend the knee nor worship him.'^ This 
apparent slight so wounded the pride 
of Haman, that he could enjoy neither 
peace nor happiness so long as Mar- 
dochai, the Jew, sat at the king's gate. 
Listen to his own confession : " He 
called together his friends and Zares 
his wife, and he declared to them the 
greatness of his riches, and the multi- 
tude of his children, and with how 
great glory the king had advanced 
him above all his princes and servants. 

16 



182 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

And after this he said : Queen Esther 
also hath invited no other to the ban- 
quet with the king, but me : and with 
her I am also to dine to-morrow with 
the king. And whereas I have all 
these things, I think I have nothing, 
so long as I see Mardochai, the Jew, 
sitting at the king's gate." ^ What a 
revelation this is ! How little it takes 
to destroy our powers of enjoyment! 
It is only a small worm that eats away 
the very core of the most delicious 
fruit, leaving it tasteless and rotten. 

In heaven only shall we live a life 
of perfect enjoyment; not merely be- 
cause all the objects of happiness exist 
there in their highest perfection, but 
because we shall also be made perfect 
by our union with God. '' We shall 

■^ Esther v. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 183 

be like Him, because we shall see him 
as He is." Wherefore, no inordinate 
passion will ever lurk in our bosom, 
and spread bitterness over our joys. 
No torturing disease ever will enervate 
or prostrate the energies of our glori- 
fied bodies, and render them incapable 
of enjoyment. All the powers of en- 
joyment which belong to the glorified 
state will ever remain fresh and unim- 
paired. It follows from this, that our 
life in heaven will be one of continued, 
undisturbed enjoyment of God himself, 
of the society of the saints, and of all 
other creatures that He has prepared 
to perfect and complete the beatitude 
of man. 



CHAPTER X. 

PLEASURES OF THE GLORIFIED SENSES. 

THE life of heaven is also one of plea- 
sure through the glorified senses. 
These pleasures, as well as those of the 
Beatific Vision, are certainly beyond 
our comprehension. Still, we may 
form some idea of them by reflecting 
on the exquisite delights which reach 
our soul through our senses, in our 
present state of imperfection. They 
are so fascinating that the world runs 
wild with their intoxication. What, 
then, must they be in heaven, where 
everything is perfect? For, in that 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 185 

world of God's magnificence, both the 
senses and their respective objects exist 
in their highest perfection, which is far 
from being the case here below. 

Now, give free scope to your imagi- 
nation. Let it roam among the blessed, 
and flutter from creature to creature. 
Build up all you can of pure pleasure, 
and you will never reach any more 
than the dimmest and faintest shadow 
of the reality. Gaze upon the glorious 
body of Jesus Christ, the most perfect 
and lovely that ever came from the 
hand of God. It is the very sun that 
gives beauty to the whole of heaven. 
Then contemplate the transcendent 
beauty of the Immaculate Mother, who, 
next to Jesus, is clothed with the great- 
est glory. Feed your eyes upon that 
countless multitude of saints. They 

16 * 



186 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

are all beautiful, because they have all 
risen with a body glorified after the 
likeness of Christ's glorious body. 
Each one has a beauty and perfection 
of his own, according to his merits ; 
and the very lowest is clothed with a 
loveliness far superior to anything ever 
seen in this world. 

If there is a rush to see beautiful 
objects, grand and sublime sights, mag- 
nificent scenery, and the works of art, 
on account of the intense pleasure en- 
joyed through the sense of sight, what 
shall we say of the exquisite pleas- 
ures in store for that sense in heaven! 
Then again reflect how ver}^ captivat- 
ing, soothing, and enlivening music is. 
The ear revels in it, and pours into the 
soul torrents of harmony, which make 
her, for the time, altogether forget the 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 187 

outer world. So captivating is it, that 
hours pass by unheeded, and she would 
almost fancy it is the echoes of angels' 
voices she hears. What, then, must 
heavenly harmony be, if our imperfect 
music is so delightful? Think, also, 
how exquisitely the odors of flowers, 
incense, and all manner of perfumery 
produce a soothing effect upon man, 
banishing cares, and infusing a new 
life into him. What must those pleas- 
ures be in heaven ? 

We have already seen that, in 
heaven, there is to be neither eating 
nor drinking, as we now understand 
these two actions. But this does not 
mean that the sense of taste is not to 
be gratified. It most certainly will be, 
though not by * corruptible objects, as 
in this world. The same must be said 



188 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

of the sense of touch or feeling, which 
is diffused over the whole body. 

The five senses of the human body 
are not mere accidental ornaments, 
which may or may not exist ; they are 
essential to the integrity of its nature. 
Thus a blind or a deaf and dumb man 
is not a perfect man, because he lacks 
something which is essential to the in- 
tegrity of his nature. Now, as glory 
does not destroy the nature of the 
body, but perfects it, it follows that 
all the blessed must rise with their five 
senses in their full perfection. And 
as their perfection consists in their ac- 
tivity and power of receiving impres- 
sions from external objects, and con- 
veying them to the soul, it is evident 
that the senses must remain active in 
heaven, and have suitable objects to 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 189 

act upon. This is precisely what we 
learn from the angelic doctor, who 
maintains that the glory of the body 
does not destroy its nature, but perfects 
it, and even preserves the vfery color 
that is natural to it.^ He maintains, 
moreover, that every power or faculty 
is more perfect when acting upon its 
proper object, than it is when inactive; 
and, as human nature will reach its 
highest degree of perfection in heaven, 
it follows that every sense will there 
act according to its nature. f 

^ Corporis gloria naturam non toilet, sed perficiet : 
unde color qui debetur corpori ex natura suarum par- 
tium, remanehit in eo, sed superaddetur gloria animse. 
— S. Thorn., SuppL, g. 85, art. 1. 

•|- Potentia conjuncta actui suo perfectior est quam 
non conjuncta : sed humana natura erit in beatis in 
maxima perfectione : ergo erunt ibi omnes sensus in 
suo actu. Praeterea, vicinius se babent ad animam 
potentiae sensitivse, quam corpus : sed corpus praemia- 



190 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

According to this doctrine, not one 
sense of the human body is either dead, 
inactive, or excluded from enjoyment, 
in heaven. And why should any one 
of them be excluded? Why should 
the sight, or the hearing, or even the 
sense of smell, be rewarded, rather 
than the taste, or the sense of touch? 
Certainly no valid reason can be given. 

Theologians teach that in hell every 
sense of the human body shall have 
its own peculiar punishment; and that 
the sense of feeling, especially, shall 
be tortured ; because, in most cases, it 
is principally in that sense that the 
reprobate have most offended God. 

bitur vel punietur proptei' merita vel demerita animge : 
ergo et omnes sensus praemiabuntur in beatis, et 
punientur in malis, secundum delectationem et dolo- 
rem vel tristitiam, quae in operatione sensus consis- 
tunt. — 5. Thorn., Suppl., q. 82, art. 4. 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 191 

Surely we must not imagine that God 
is more severe in punishing the wicked, 
than He is good and liberal in reward- 
ing the just. Now, is it not precisely 
in the senses of taste and feeling that 
the saints have suffered most for God ? 
Look at that countless multitude of 
martyrs. Many were starved to death; 
others were scourged until they died 
under the torture ; others were torn by 
the wild beasts ; others were crucified ; 
others were burnt with a slow fire ; 
while others were tortured for days 
together in every limb and sense, and 
that, too, with all the ingenuity and ap- 
pliances that the most refined cruelty 
could devise. 

Then again, look at that countless 
multitude of confessors, virgins, and 
others, who, in the practice of virtue, 



192 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

became their own executioners. They 
suffered inconceivably by frequent and 
long fastings, by coarseness of diet, by 
wearing hair-cloths, and by otherwise 
torturing their flesh. And now, shall 
these senses go unrewarded in the 
blessed, while they are so terribly pun- 
ished in the reprobate ? Certainly not. 
All that we can say is that, at present, 
we do not know how all this is to be 
realized ; but as the whole man in all 
his senses has served God, and suffered 
for Him, it is but just that he should be 
rewarded in his whole being, which in- 
cludes every sense of the body, as well 
as every faculty of the soul. 

Hence, in our meditations on heaven, 
we must let the pleasures of the glori- 
fied senses enter as an integral element 
of man'^ happiness. We must contem- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 193 

plate these pleasures as seriously as we 
do the pain of sense in the reprobate, 
only avoiding the introduction of any- 
thing gross or carnal, and, therefore, 
repugnant to a state of incorruption. 
Hence we must, as already shown, 
avoid introducing eating, drinking, 
sleep, or anything else which, by its 
very nature, belongs to the animal life 
of man. 

We must also banish from our ideas 
of heaven all the carnal pleasures 
of this world, as they are now un- 
derstood. Our blessed Lord him- 
self told the Jews, who believed such 
pleasures to exist in heaven : " You 
err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor 
the power of God. For, in the resur- 
rection, tliey shall neither marry nor 
be married ; but shall be as the angels 



194 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

of God in heaven." ^ All sucli pleas- 
ures, which were intended only for this 
world of imperfection, will be replaced 
by others of a superior order, and 
suited to our spiritualized bodies. 

So, then, we see that the life of 
heaven is one of sensible pleasure 
through the glorified senses, as well 
as one of exquisite mental and moral 
enjoyment in the Beatific Vision. 
These sensible pleasures have, more- 
over, a peculiar characteristic, which 
the pleasures of sense have not in 
our present state of imperfection. In 
heaven the blessed can enjoy them all 
without fear; for none of them are 
forbidden, and, consequently, they can 
never be followed by bitter rcKorse or 
shame. Neither have they, as in this 

* Matt. xxii. 29. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN 195 

world, a tendency to darken tlie mind, 
and turn the heart away from God. 
They will rather intensify our love for 
Him, who is the Author of our exceed- 
ing blessedness, whether it comes im- 
mediately from himself, or partly from 
the beautiful creatures He has pre- 
pared to complete the happiness of 
His beloved children. 




CHAPTER XL 

SOCIAL JOYS OF HEAYEIS". 

THE life of heaven is also one of 
pure social joys. Among all the 
joys outside of the Beatific Vision, 
there are certainly none so sweet as 
those which arise from our social in- 
tercourse with the blessed. We are 
social beings by nature. Our highest 
and best powers are framed for society; 
and we are never in our normal state 
except when in communion with our 
fellow - men. Hence all men love 
society, if we except the misanthrope 
or man-hater, who is a moral monster. 

196 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 197 

He has unfortunately developed in his 
bosom some of the worst passions of 
our fallen nature, and they have built 
an element of hell in his heart. For 
in that godless and hopeless region 
there is no love either for God or 
neighbor, and, therefore, social joys 
can have no existence therein. With 
the exception of a few persons of this 
kind, all men love society. Even the 
lonely hermit loves it. But he sees in 
it dangers to his soul, and he cuts him- 
self off from it in this world, that he 
may enjoy it in the next, where it shall 
have lost its dangerous element. 

Social intercourse with our fellow- 
beings affords us some of our purest 
joys in this world ; yet they are not, 
and never can be perfect. They are 
roses witli cruel thorns, that wound 

17^ 



198 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

and make us bleed, almost as often as 
they delight us with their delicious 
perfumes. How often does it not hap- 
pen that we go into society with a light 
heart, and return home sad and heavy? 
And why so ? Because our heart has 
been wounded, perhaps crushed, by 
some wicked insinuation, or some un- 
kind interpretation of an action per- 
formed with the best of intentions on 
our part. Even our holiest actions 
are criticized, and unworthy motives, 
which never entered our minds, are 
attributed to us. Then again, they, 
whom we had considered our best 
friends, may betray us, and reveal to 
a cold and cruel world the secrets 
which, in our simplicity, we had con- 
fided t<) them. In a word, if inter- 
course with our fellow - creatures is 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 199 

often the source of pure joys, it is not 
unfrequently the occasion of our keen- 
est sufferings. And why ? Because in 
our present state of imperfection we 
are sinful and selfish. Because we 
allow ourselves to act toward others 
through jealousy, envy, natural aver- 
sion, and other ungoverned passions of 
our fallen nature. We do not love all 
men, and all men do not love us. We 
see many defects in others, which make 
them unamiable; and they see as many 
in us, which make their love for us 
almost an impossibility. Wherefore, 
so long as we live in the flesh, our 
social joys must always be mingled 
with a certain amount of bitterness. 

Let us now raise our eyes to our 
heavenly home, and there contemplate 
a life of the purest, and most perfect 



200 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

social pleasures. There, neither self- 
ishness, nor uncharitableness, nor any 
unruly passion can exist, and, conse- 
quently, our social joys will never be 
mingled with the gall of bitterness. 
Putting aside, for a moment, all the 
shortcomings and imperfections that 
mar our social joys in this world, let 
us look at their bright side only, and 
see what it is that makes our social 
intercourse with others a pleasure. 
This will be as a mirror wherein we 
shall behold some faint reflections of 
social joys as they exist in heaven. 
What are the personal attributes or 
qualities in others that make our social 
intercourse with them a pleasure ? 
They may be reduced to six, which 
really include all others that could be 
mentioned. These are virtue, learn- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEX. 201 

iiig, beauty, refinement, mutual love, 
and the ties of kindred. We shall say 
a few words on each of these. 

1. Virtue is the attribute which gives 
us our highest similitude to God, and 
it is this also which imparts to us some 
of the purest social pleasures we enjoy 
on earth. Purity of life, or at least 
the absence of gross vices, is a con- 
dition without which we can enjoy no 
one's society, unless we ourselves are 
depraved. Neither beauty, nor learn- 
ing, nor any other endowment, can re- 
place virtue, w^hile it alone can, to a 
great extent, supply all other deficien- 
cies. Hence it is, that when depraved 
persons are in the society of the good, 
they feel compelled to be guarded in 
their words and actions. They must 
put on an exterior appearance, at least. 



202 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

of virtue, well knowing that otherwise 
their presence would be extremely of- 
fensive, and calculated to mar the pleas- 
ures of others. 

When we meet with one who is evi- 
dently a man of God, one whose every 
word is instinct with the spirit of God, 
whose whole exterior betokens the inti- 
mate union of his soul with God, in 
whose very countenance the beauty of 
angelical purity shines forth, we deem it 
a happiness to spend a few moments in 
his society. The pleasures enjoyed in his 
company are not only exquisite — they 
are also sanctifying. If that is so in 
this world, where all holiness is im- 
perfect, what shall we say of the 
pleasures of heavenly society? Holi- 
ness is an essential attribute of every 
inhabitant of heaven. They are all 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 203 

pure ; for none else can see God. They 
are all made partakers of the Divine 
Nature in a far higher degree than is 
attainable in this world, and conse- 
quently they are all clothed with the 
spotless purity of God himself. Not 
only are they all pure, but they are, 
moreover, totally free from those nat- 
ural defects of character, which, in this 
world, make many holy persons unami- 
able, and even repulsive. As nature is 
not destroyed, but perfected by glory, 
our natural character will not be de- 
stroyed by our union with God. But 
whatever is faulty in it, or offensive to 
others, will disappear, leaving it amia- 
ble and perfect in its own kind. Hence, 
our social intercourse with the saints 
will ever be the source of the purest 
pleasures. 



204 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

2. Learning, in those with whom we 
associate, is another source of pleasure. 
We can sit for hours listening to the 
interesting conversation of a learned 
man, even if he lacks virtue, and only 
wears its exterior appearance. In such 
a man's society we drink in, as it were, 
torrents of pleasures, which are among 
the most rational we can enjoy in this 
world. If these pleasures are so ex- 
quisite here below, where, after all, the 
wisest know so little, what shall we say 
of those same pleasures in heaven ? 
There all are learned, all are filled with 
knowledge, though all do not possess it 
in the same degree. Nevertheless, each 
one's knowledge will be a source of 
pleasure to others. 

3. Personal beauty is also a source of 
pleasure in this world. Every one 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAYEN. 205 

knows that perfect personal beauty 
sweetly but powerfully draws men to 
itself, and that one endowed therewith 
gives far greater pleasure than another 
who does not possess this attribute. It 
is in heaven, and there only, that every 
one will possess the attribute of beauty 
in its fullest perfection. For the soul 
is clothed with the beauty of God him- 
self, which He communicates to her in 
the Beatific Vision ; while the whole 
body is beautified and glorified after 
the likeness of Christ's glorious body. 
Every saint is therefore clothed with a 
loveliness far superior to anything we 
ever can see on earth. If, then, it is so 
great a pleasure to associate Avith per- 
sons who possess the natural and per- 
ishable beauty of this world, what shall 
we say of the pleasures which must flow 

18 



206 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

from our intercourse with persons who 
are clothed with the beauty of God 
himself ! 

4. Refinement is another attribute 
which makes our social intercourse with 
others pleasurable. A great personal 
beauty that might at first attract others 
to itself, would soon repel and even dis- 
gust them, should they perceive in its 
possessor unpolished manners, coarse- 
ness, and stupidity. A cultivated intel- 
lect, refined feelings, and elegant man- 
ners are necessary to adorn personal 
beauty, and make it a source of pleasure 
to those who are attracted thereby. It 
is very certain that in heaven, where 
our whole nature is to be elevated and 
perfected, this refinement of mind and 
heart, as well as the elegance of per- 
sonal bearing which flows from both, 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 207 

will exist in its highest perfection, and 
ever be the source of exquisite pleasures 
in our social intercourse with the blessed. 

5. Another source of social joys is 
mutual love. The four personal attri- 
butes we have been considering, make 
up "an amiable character ; that is, one 
which we love spontaneously, and 
whose love we are certain to have in 
return for ours. It is this love which 
crowns and perfects a character of this 
kind, and produces a very large share 
of the pure pleasures we enjoy in the 
society of such persons. But, however 
pure human love may be, even when 
elevated by grace to the virtue of char- 
ity, it never can produce unalloyed so- 
cial pleasures ; because it never reaches 
its full perfection in this world. 

It is in heaven only that charity is 



208 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

perfect. There we shall love every one 
with a most tender charity, and see 
ourselves loved as tenderly and as 
purely in return. Our charity w^ill be 
mutual, and, therefore, our intercourse 
with the blessed will produce joys and 
pleasures second only to the unspeak- 
able happiness of the Beatific Vision. 
Meditate well. Christian soul, on these 
exquisite delights. Think what an un- 
speakable pleasure that mutual and 
perfect charity must be to the inhab- 
itants of heaven. That feature alone 
w^ould almost change for any one of us 
this cold world into a heaven. 

Suppose you could say, with truth, 
" Ever}^ one of mj^ acquaintances loves 
me with the purest cliarity ; and every 
stranger who is introduced to me, loves 
me immediately with the purest affec-r 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 209 

tion. I have no enemies ; no, not one. 
No one is ever envious or jealous of 
me ; no one ever says an unkind word 
of me, nor has any one even an unkind 
thought of me. All seem to take a 
singular pleasure in speaking well of 
me, and in doing me all manner of 
kind services; and, in return, I sin- 
cerely love all, and take a singular de- 
light in doing good to all." Surely, 
such language never was spoken by 
any one in this world of imperfection. 
If, therefore, you could speak it with 
truth, you would have reached a bless- 
edness which neither our Blessed Lord 
nor any of his saints ever reached on 
earth. Every one would look upon 
you, and with reason, as tlie most 
highly-favored person that ever lived 
in this world. 

18- 



210 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Now, this is precisely the blessedness 
which awaits us in our heavenly home. 
There we shall love every one with the 
most perfect charity, and every one will 
return our love. There we shall have 
no enemies; no one to think unchar- 
itably of us; no one to criticize our 
sayings and conduct; no one to spread 
reports injurious to our character; no 
one to put an unfavorable construction 
upon our most innocent actions. "God 
is charity/' and as "we shall be like 
Him because we shall see him as he 
is/' it follows that we, too, shall possess 
that divine charity, in a far higher de- 
gree than is attainable here below. Our 
social intercourse with the blessed will, 
therefore, ever be the source of the 
purest and sweetest joy. 

6. Besides the things already enu 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 211 

merated, there is one more which is to 
be the source of still greater joy. And 
what may that be ? It is the meeting, 
in heaven, of them whom we loved 
so well here, because they were bound 
to us by the sacred ties of kindred, or 
of true friendship.. It is the meeting 
of parent and child, of husband and 
wife, of brother and sister, of relatives 
and friends — with whom we were 
united by the bonds of the purest love. 
As glory does not destroy our nature, 
neither does it destroy our natural vir- 
tues, but perfects them. Hence, we 
shall take along with us our natural 
love for our relatives and friends. Thus 
Jesus Christ, our Model, now loves His 
Blessed Mother with the natural love 
of a dutiful son. He loves her, not 
only because she is so pure and holy, 



212 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

but also because she is his own mother. 
TJie elevation of His human nature 
above everything that is not God, has 
neither destroyed nor diminished in 
him that natural love which every 
child has for its mother. Thus, again, 
Mary now loves Jesus most tenderly, not 
only because he is her God, but also be- 
cause he is her own son — flesh of her 
flesh, and bone of her bone. Her ele- 
vation to the highest glory, after that 
of Jesus, has neither destroyed nor di- 
minished in her the natural love which 
every mother has for her child. If 
anything, it has made her love more 
ardent even than it was in this world. 

So we, also, shall enter heaven with 
the natural love we now have for our 
kindred and friends ; but in us it will 
be purified from everything inordinate 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 213 

or imperfect. What a delight that 
meeting must be for the blessed ! We 
can even now form some faint idea of 
that heavenly joy, by reflecting on what 
takes place when a beloved father re- 
turns home from a long and perilous 
voyage, or from some cruel war, where 
he was daily exposed to captivity and 
death. What outbursts of gladness 
among the members of his family ! 
How happy they are to see him and 
embrace him ! If these joys are so 
great in this world, what must they be 
in heaven ! Especially since there they 
are coupled with the thought that there 
is no more separation. No, no more 
separation ! What delightful music 
there is in that short sentence ! Death 
shall be no more, and therefore we shall 



214 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

never more be torn away from the so- 
ciety of our kindred and friends. 

However, it seems to me I hear you 
say, '' There is no difficulty in believing 
that the meeting of our own in heaven 
is an unspeakable joy ; but suppose we 
do not meet them there — what then? 
Suppose that on entering heaven we 
learn that our father, our mother, or 
some other loved one is lost forever ; 
shall we still be happy? Will there 
not be in such a case an essential ele- 
ment wanting to complete our happi- 
ness?" We shall devote the next chap- 
ter to answering this difficulty, which is 
a lifelong torture to many a pious mind. 






CHAPTER XII. 

WILL THE KNOWLEDGE THAT SOME OF 

OUR OWN ARE LOST, MAR OUR 

HAPPINESS IN HEAYEN? 

THIS is a difficult question to answer 
satisfactorily, on account of our in- 
stinctive feelings of natural affection, 
wliich arise, and, like a mist, obscure 
our judgment. Nevertheless, the diffi- 
culty is much lessened, and even en- 
tirely removed from some minds, at 
least, by the following considerations. 

1. Our happiness, even in this world, 
does not depend on the happiness of 
those who are bound to us by the ties 
of kindred or of friendship. This is 

215 



216 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

especially the case wlien their unhappi- 
iiess proceeds from their own misdeeds. 
In such a case, we even inflict the pun- 
ishment ourselves, and feel satisfied to 
see them suffer according to their de- 
serts. Thus a father banishes from the 
paternal roof a son or a daughter who 
has committed a deed that has brought 
disgrace upon the family. And what 
is more, the whole family ratify the 
terrible sentence. • The presence and 
happiness of that brother or sister is no 
longer necessary for their own happi- 
ness. Again, a husband banishes from 
his presence an unfaithful wife, whom 
he had formerly loved as his own life. 
While she was pure, it seemed to him 
that he could never be happy without 
her; and now her society has become a 
positive hinderance to his happiness. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 217 

Therefore she must go and live alone in 
her disgrace. It is a just punishment 
for her infidelity. 

If such is the case in this world, why 
not in heaven ? Those of our own who 
die in sin appear before God in dis- 
grace. He disowns them as unworthy 
children, or as unfaithful spouses, and 
as such He banishes them from the king- 
dom of glory ; and we shall undoubt- 
edly ratify the just sentence. Nor will 
their wretchedness, which is the work 
of their own hands, disturb our peace 
or mar our happiness. 

2. In heaven, we shall be like God, 
because we shall see Him as he is. This 
moral transformation, as we have al- 
ready seen, is the work of the Beatific 
Vision. By that glorious vision, and 
consequent union with God, we shall 



218 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

participate in all the attributes of God 
which are communicable to a rational 
nature. One of these attributes is jus- 
tice — that iSj the power of judging as 
God does, without passion, prejudice, or 
any of those motives which, in this 
world, render our judgments rash, un- 
just, or partial. Not only shall we be 
clothed with the power of judging justly, 
but with it we shall have a desire that 
every one be rewarded or punished ac- 
cording to his works ; and we shall rest 
perfectly satisfied to see the just sen- 
tence carried into effect. 

Even now we possess that attribute, 
as well as others which make us the 
living images of the Most High. But 
it is far from being perfect, because our 
feelings, private interests, and passions 
warp our judgments, and even reverse 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 219 

them after we have pronounced a just 
sentence. Suppose, for instance, you 
hear of a man who has committed a 
premeditated murder. You are horri- 
fied at the atrocious deed, and without 
a moment's hesitation you pronounce in 
your heart that man's sentence. Your 
judgment is that he must die on the 
scaflfold, or, at least, that he be deprived 
of liberty and condemned to hard 
labor for the remainder of his days. 
But you have scarcely pronounced this 
just sentence when you discover that 
the murderer is your own father ! What 
a change this one circumstance will 
bring about in your judgment ! If you 
are of an affectionate nature, you will 
do all in your power to find circum- 
stances that may lessen or palliate his 
guilt ; and perhaps you may even sue- 



220 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

ceed in making him appear, in your 
eyes, wholly innocent; and thus your 
first judgment is entirely reversed. 
What is it that has thus changed your 
first judgment? Is it your deep sense 
of justice? Not at all. Your instinct- 
ive feelings of love have blinded you, 
and made it impossible for you to judge 
his case fairlj^, and on its own merits. 

But, again, if you are not of an af- 
fectionate nature, you may be so trans- 
ported with rage at your father's crime, 
that you can find no punishment severe 
enough for him. And why so ? Be- 
cause you see yourself and your family 
forever disgraced. You feel your cheek 
burning with shame, and, in j^our de- 
sire for revenge, you heap maledictions 
upon your unfortunate father's head. 
Here, again, your judgment is wrong, 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 221 

because it is dictated by an unmanly 
desire of revenge. So, in either case, 
you are unable to judge fairly, and to 
pronounce a just sentence, simply be- 
cause the criminal is your own father. 

Now, it is very certain that none of 
these prejudices or passions, which now 
so much interfere with our judgments, 
will follow us into heaven. There,* 
clothed with the justice and sanctity 
of God himself, we shall judge as He 
does, without passion or prejudice. And 
the fact that the criminal is our own 
father, or mother, or other loved one, 
will neither influence nor reverse our 
judgments. I do not mean to say that 
we shall actually sit in judgment and 
pronounce the sentence of condemna- 
tion against our own kindred; but I 
do mean that, seeing the justice and 



222 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

fairness of God's judgments, we shall 
readily acquiesce therein, and ratify 
them, and rest satisfied to see all suffer 
according to their deserts. 

3. A third consideration is taken 
from the nature of love. When love 
for any one has taken full possession 
of our soul, it so completely changes 
our whole moral nature into the per- 
son beloved, that we forget our own 
private interests, and embrace his cause, 
his interests, as if they were our own. 
Henceforth, our will is so absorbed by 
his, that we seem no longer to possess 
any will of our own. 

Holy Scripture gives us a striking 
instance of this transforming power of 
love, in the friendship of Jonathan for 
David. According to the forcible ex- 
pression of Holy Writ: ^'The soul of 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 223 

Jonathan was knit with the soul of 
David, and Jonathan loved him as 
his own soul.""^ David had slain the 
famous Goliath, and when the Jewish 
army was returning home in triumph, 
the women sang: ^^Saul slew his thou- 
sand, and David his ten thousand." 
King Saul was filled with anger and 
envy on hearing David praised more 
than himself; and, from that day, he 
hated him, and did all in his power to 
destroy him. His son Jonathan, who 
loved David as his own soul, left no- 
thing undone to save his friend. He 
watched everything his father said or 
did, discovered all his plans against 
David, and then would go into the for- 
est, at his own peril, and warn his 
friend of approaching danger. He did 

^ 1 Kings xviii. 



224 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

more: lie forgot, or gave up all his 
own private interests, and embraced 
those of David. For, being the son 
of a king, he had the presumptive 
right to succeed his father upon the 
throne ; but, instead of himself, he 
wanted David to reign in his father's 
place. He did even more : he em- 
braced a line of conduct entirely op- 
posed to the temporal interests of his 
own father, and he thus materially 
aided in placing David upon the 
throne of Israel. 

This is a striking instance of the 
wonderful transforming power of love. 
Now, if human love has such a power 
in this world, what shall we say of the 
power of divine love in heaven! There 
we shall see God as He is, and that 
vision will kindle in us a love far 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 225 

greater than ever we had, or could 
have, for any one in this world. We 
shall, therefore, spontaneously espouse 
God's cause, and embrace his interests. 
We shall love all that He loves, and we 
shall find it impossible to love them 
whom he does not and cannot love. 
Hence, we shall never love Lucifer, 
nor any of those fallen spirits who 
sided with him in his rebellion against 
God, and became demons on that ac- 
count. Nor shall we ever love any of 
those who lived a bad life, stubbornly 
persisted in their sins, and died at en- 
mity with God. They have, by their 
own act, excommunicated themselves, 
as it were, from the heart of God. They 
have, consequently, made it impossible 
for Him ever to love them. They 
have also made it impossible for us to 



226 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

love them, even were they father, 
mother, or any one else that was dear 
to us in this world. If we can no 
longer love them, we shall certainly 
not lose a single degree of our happi- 
ness on finding that they are not in 
heaven. 

4. The fourth and last consideration 
I place before you is, that if the salva- 
tion of all their own were necessary 
for the happiness of the blessed, it 
might follow that very few, if any, 
could be happy in heaven. For it may 
be that there are only very few, if any, 
among the blessed, who see every mem- 
ber of their family, all their relatives 
and friends, around them in the abode 
of bliss. It would follow, too, that 
even the angels are unhappy; for, 
before the rebellion of Lucifer and 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 227 

his accomplices, they certainly loved 
each other, and probably with more 
perfection and intensity than we ever 
loved any one in this world. And 
now they see a vast multitude of their 
former friends and associates in end- 
less misery. Are they unhappy on 
that account? Certainly not. It is 
evident, then, that if we once admit 
that the salvation of our own is neces- 
sary for our individual happiness, we 
find ourselves compelled to admit also 
that heaven is a place of sadness and 
mourning, since there are many there 
who are not surrounded by those whom 
they loved in this world. The ab- 
surdity which necessarily follows from 
such an admission is, by itself, a suf- 
ficient answer to the difficulty. 

Once more : Remember that, in 



228 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

heaven, we shall be like God, because 
we shall see Him as he is. We shall, 
therefore, be like Grod in beatitude. 
Now, is God made unhappy because 
some of His creatures have refused 
him obedience and love, and have, in 
consequence, lost themselves forever? 
Certainly not. And did He ever love 
those same creatures as much as we 
love father, or mother, brother, sister, 
or friend? Certainly He did. His 
love for them was so great, that ours, 
however pure and ardent, sinks into 
insignificance when compared to His. 
Did we ever offer ourselves to suffer 
every imaginable indignity and torture 
for our kindred? Did we ever offer 
even to die a most shameful and cruel 
death for them ? We never did ; and 
if we had even attempted it, we should 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 229 

have found our puny and imperfect 
love unable to carry us through the 
terrible sacrifice. 

God alone is capable of so great a 
love. He assumed our nature, and in 
it He suffered more than human mind 
can conceive. Look at Him in the 
garden, oppressed and overpowered 
with an agony of sorrow. Follow 
Him through the different stages of 
his bitter passion. Contemplate that 
cruDl scourging, the crowning with 
thorns, the filthy spittle which covers 
His sacred face, and the other insults 
and indignities heaped upon him. 
Follow Him to Mount Calvary; see 
Him there nailed upon an infamous 
gibbet, suffering every torture of mind 
and body to his very last breath. And 
why did He undergo all this ? Because 

20 



230 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

He loved us. And now, are all they, 
whom He loved so well, and for whom 
he suffered so much, around the throne 
of his glory in heaven? They cer- 
tainly are not. Are even all they, 
who were His special friends in this 
world, around him in heaven ? Surely 
we have every reason to fear that one 
of them at least, Judas the traitor, is 
not there. And is Jesus unhappy be- 
cause they are not all there ? Certainly 
not. If, then. His happiness is not 
marred by the loss of those whom he 
loved so much, neither shall ours be, 
if we find that some of our own are 
lost. We shall be like Him in beati- 
tude, because we shall see him as he is. 
In the mean time, do all in your 
power to instil principles of virtue into 
your children, if you are a parent ; into 



THE HAPPINESS OF HE4VEN. 231 

your pupils, if you are a teacher, or 
clothed in any other way with au- 
thority over your fellow-creatures. See 
that none of them be lost through your 
own fault. For if there is one thing 
above all others difficult to understand, 
it is how fathers and mothers can be 
happy in heaven, when they see their 
own children lost through their own 
negligence, or bad example? Again, 
how can teachers, guardians, and pas- 
tors of souls be happy in heaven, when 
they see those committed to their care 
ruined forever, through their negli- 
gence? Again, how can those men 
be happy who have seduced others 
from the path of virtue, by immoral 
discourses, bad books, and evil actions? 
These certainly are hard things to un- 
derstand ; and still we must believe 



232 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

that all they who enter heaven are 
happy. We must believe, moreover, 
that careless, and even bad parents, 
negligent teachers, seducers of the in- 
nocent, and writers of bad books, will 
eventually be admitted into heaven^ if 
they die truly repentant. We must 
believe, moreover, that all such per- 
sons will be happy in heaven, no mat- 
ter how many they have ruined, for 
the simple reason that no unhappiness 
can ever find its way into the abode of 
bliss. 




CHAPTER XIII. 

THE LIGHT OF GLOEY. 

HAVING, in the foregoing chap- 
ters, endeavored to form an idea 
of heaven's happiness, we must now 
endeavor to understand something of 
the different degrees in which each one 
of the blessed enjoys that unspeakable 
beatitude. 

It is an article of faith that every- 
one in heaven, except baptized infants, 
is rewarded according to his own per- 
sonal merits, acquired in this life by 
the assistance of God's grace. Baptized 
children, who die before they reach the 
age of discretion, are admitted into 

20 ^ 233 



234 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

heaven, in virtue of their adoption as 
children of God on the day of their 
baptism. But all others who have 
lived long enough to be responsible for 
their deeds, besides being admitted 
there in virtue of their adoption as 
children of God, are, moreover, re- 
warded according to their own per- 
sonal merits. 

But, it seems to me, I hear you ask, 
Does not the happiness of heaven con- 
sist in the Beatific Vision ? Undoubt- 
edly it does. And is the little boy, 
who dies before he can make an act of 
faith, or of charity, admitted to that 
glorious vision as well as the Apostle 
and the martyr? Certainly he is. 
And the little girl, who dies before 
reaching the age of discretion, is she 
too admitted to the vision of God, as 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 235 

well as the Sister of Charity, the nun, 
and others who spend their lives in 
teaching the ignorant and ministering 
to the poor? Undoubtedly she is. 
And the murderer, who dies on the 
scaffold, after making an act of perfect 
contrition, is he, too, eventually ad- 
mitted to the vision and possession of 
God ? Yes, he, too, will see God face 
to face, and be made happy by that 
glorious vision. Well, then, if all see 
and possess God, how can there be a 
difference in the happiness of the 
saints ? Are they not all equally 
happy ? This is the question we are 
now to answer, by examining the 
meaning and the nature of the Light 
of glory. This examination will make 
it evident, that, though all see God, 
yet no two of the blessed enjoy pre- 



236 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

cisely the same degree or amount of 
happiness. 

Theologians define the Light of 
glory to be, " A supernatural intel- 
lectual power infused into the soul, by 
which she is enabled to see God, which 
she never could do by her own unas- 
sisted natural powers.'"^ It is called 
supernatural, because it is not a natural 
talent or power of our nature, as the 

•^ Per lumen gloriae intelligitur qualitas creata, et 
habitus virtusque intellectualis supernaturalis, ac per 
se infusa intellectui, qua redditur proxime potens et 

habilis ad videndum Deum Ita D. Thomas, 

sicque ratione probatur : Ut virtutes infusag requirun- 
tur, ut eorum actus fiant connatural! modo, nempe a 
principle intrinseco et proportionato, ita etiam lumen 
ut fiat visio. Cum enim activitas ex parte intellectus 
sit in suo ordine deficiens et imperfecta, ideo oportet 
ut lumen illi virtutem conferat altioris ordinis, super- 
naturalem et actui proportionatam per quam elevatur 
ad efiSciendam visionem cum illo. — Suarez^ de JDeo^ 
cap, xiv. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 237 

talent for poetry, music, painting, and 
others, all of which may be developed 
and highly improved by study. But 
the Light of glory is an elevation, ex- 
pansion, or development of the mind, 
which comes directly from God, and 
is, in no sense, the result of human 
endeavors, except in so far as it has 
been deserved by a holy life. We shall 
understand better the meaning of the 
Light of glory by an illustration. 

Let us suppose that you never could 
learn mathematics or astronomy. In 
spite of the most intense application, 
you never could master even the mul- 
tiplication table ; and when you gazed 
upon the heavens, you could never see 
there any more beauty and magnifi- 
cence than does the untutored savage. • 
But, on a sudden, there is a flash of 



238 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

light from above, and your mind is 
enlightened far beyond its natural 
capacity, and you can see all the heav- 
enly bodies as they are. You now 
know their names, motions, distances, 
laws, and relations to each other, and 
to the whole universe. Formerly, they 
appeared all alike, except the sun and 
the moon; but now, you see that no 
two of them are alike. Each one has 
its own size, velocity, beauty, and 
glory. You even soar far beyond the 
discoveries of science, and you gaze 
with delight upon millions of shining 
worlds, which the most powerful tele- 
scope never did, and never can, reach. 
You can, moreover, in the twinkling 
of an eye, calculate with astonishing 
precision the day, the hour, the min- 
ute, yea, the very second, at which an 



THE HAPPINESS JF HEAVEN. 239 

eclipse will occur. Gazing upon the 
heavens, which hitherto had given 
you so little satisfaction, now becomes 
the source of the most exquisite and 
rational pleasure. For you now see 
in these countless worlds so much 
beauty and magnificence, so delightful 
a harmony, that you can spend whole 
nights in the contemplation of the 
heavens. 

This sudden elevation and expan- 
sion of your mind to see such wonders 
in the natural order, illustrates what 
takes place in heaven the moment a 
pure soul enters there. In the supposi- 
tion just made, you receive an accession 
or addition of intellectual power, which 
enables you to see clearly and to under- 
stand what was invisible and unintelli- 
gible to you before the flash enlight- 



240 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

ened you. The Light of glory produces 
a simJar effect upon the soul at her 
entrance into heaven. Our mind, which 
is now unable to see God except " as 
through a glass, in a dark manner," is 
suddenly elevated in power, and ena- 
bled to see God as he is, face to face, 
and to contemplate his divine beauty 
and his other perfections. Our indi- 
vidual mind is neither destroyed noi 
changed into another : it is only 
strengthened and elevated in power 
and capacity far beyond anything we 
could ever have reached by our own 
unassisted endeavors. 

But we shall still better understand 
the meaning of the Light of glory by 
contrasting it with the light of faith. 
What is faith ? Faith is also a super- 
natural elevation of the mind, by which 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 241 

we are enabled to believe, as firmly as 
if we saw them, mysteries which are 
far above our comprehension. It is 
called supernatural, because it comes 
from God alone ; for no man ever can 
bestow faith upon himself. Here, then, 
the light of faith and the Light of glory 
resemble each other, inasmuch as they 
both come immediately from God, and 
elevate man above himself. But they 
vastly differ in intensity ; for by faith 
we see God imperfectly and unsatisfac- 
torily, whereas by the Light of glory we 
see God as he is in himself. Faith, 
therefore, is as the first faint blush of 
the morning, while the Light of glory 
is as the sun shining in his meridian 
splendor. 

So, then, the Light of glory is a su- 
pernatural addition to our mind, which 

21 Q 



242 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

enables it to cross the gulf between the 
Creator and the creature. I say gulf, 
because no created intelligence can see 
God as he is, by its own natural power. 
Hence, neither St. Augustine, nor St. 
Thomas, nor any other giant intellect 
could see God as He is in himself, any 
better than the man who never could 
learn his letters. It is in this sense 
that we must understand St. Paul when, 
speaking of God, he says : " Who alone 
hath immortality, and inhabiteth light 
inaccessible ; whom no man hath seen, 
nor can see.""^ Evidently he means that 
no one can see God by the light of na- 
ture ; for in another place he tells us 
that when that which is perfect is come, 
we shall see Him face to face. 

From all this it follows that all men 

1 Tim. vi. 16. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 243 

are on a footing of perfect equality, so 
far as the power of seeing God is con- 
cerned. No one has that power in 
himself by nature, and no one can give 
it to himself or develop it by study, as 
we can other powers we have received 
in the natural order. It is as if we 
said that no man possesses the natural 
power to see through a stone wall, or 
through the earth. Certainly all men 
are equal here ; for the man whose 
eagle eye can recognize a friend at the 
distance of ten miles, is no nearer see- 
ing through the earth than another, 
whose sight is so bad that he can 
scarcely recognize his own father at a 
distance of a few steps. So it is with 
seeing God. No man has the power in 
himself by nature, and, therefore, no 
one can develop it by study. Even the 



244 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

angels, who are so vastly superior to us 
in intelligence, could not see God as he 
is until they were elevated by the light 
of glory ; and those among them who 
became reprobates by their sin, never 
did and never shall see God, although 
they still retain, even in their fallen 
state, more intelligence than man. 

I have been particular in explaining 
and insisting upon these things, lest it 
might be imagined that men of highly 
cultivated minds, such as philosophers, 
theologians, poets, and the like, shall 
see God better, and enjoy more of 
heaven's happiness than the ignorant, 
in virtue of their superior natural 
gifts. They certainly shall not. God 
does not bestow a supernatural reward 
upon the natural gifts, or even upon 
the natural virtues, which are to be 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 245 

found among pagans as well as among 
Christians. But He does reward the 
faith, hope, charity, and other super- 
natural virtues, which his children 
have practised in this world. Hence, 
theology teaches that not even the 
angels, who are so superior to us, see 
God any better in virtue of their 
nobler and more perfect intellect. 
Thus, supposing an angel and a man 
to be equal in merit, they both receive 
the same amount of the Light of glory ; 
they both see God in the same degree 
of perfection ; and both, therefore, 
enjoy the same degree of happiness. 
If we admit that the angel has a more 
perfect vision of God, on account of 
his more perfect natural intellect, then 
we must also admit that he enjoys a 
portion of supernatural beatitude, ex- 

21* 



246 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

clusively, in virtue of his natural pow- 
ers, and not on account of his merits 
acquired by correspondence to divine 
grace."^ Evidently no such admission 
can be made ; for heaven is a super- 
natural reward of supernatural virtues, 
which have been practised, in this world, 
under the influence of divine grace, 

■^... Ipsa enim visio est praBmium nostrum: ergo 
ubi paria sunt merita, debet esse par visio : sed in 
homine et angelo possunt esse paria merita : ergo 
debet esse par visio. Ergo quantitas visionis debet 
sumi a lumine glorise quod datur secundum mensuram 
meritorum, non autem a perfectione intellectus, quae 
non datur ex meritis. Et confirmatur, quia ponamus 
angelum et bominem habere aequalia merita. Vel ergo 
accipient aequale lumen glorise vel inaequale. Si in- 
sequale, non respondebit meritis. Si sequale, ergo 
cum sequali lumine asqualiter Deum videbunt : alioqui 
si angelus perfectius videret, tunc aliquam partem 
beatitudinis haberet sine meritis, ex solis naturae 
viribus. — Becan. de Attrib. Divin., qusest. x. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 247 

and not a reward of natural endow- 
ments. If, then, no such doctrine can 
be admitted when the question is be- 
tween angels and men, much less can 
it be admitted when there is question 
of superior natural intellect among 
men. Hence, the man who never 
learned his letters, either for want of 
natural talent or opportunity, shall un- 
doubtedly see God, as well as the phi- 
losopher, if he has led as good a life ; 
and he shall see Him better, and enjoy 
more of heaven's happiness, if he has 
lived a holier life. 

Once more : The light of glory is a 
supernatural elevation of the mind, 
which enables man to see God as He 
is in himself. It is given by God him- 
self to those who have lived a super- 
natural life of faith, hope, and charity. 



248 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 



Moreover, it is given to each in pro- 
portion to his personal merits. It 
therefore becomes the measure of the 
degree of happiness which each one of 
the blessed enjoys in the vision of 
God. 




CHAPTER XIY. 

DEGREES OF HAPPIJSTESS IN^ HEAVEN. 

HAVING seen that the Light of 
glory is the new power, or me- 
dium, through which the blessed see 
and enjoy God, we must now endeavor 
to understand how its different degrees 
of intensity become the source of vastly 
diflferent degrees of happiness or enjoy- 
ment. 

In order to understand how the dif- 
ferent degrees of mental elevation pro- 
duce different degrees of happiness in 
the Beatific Vision, we must first ex- 
amine in what consist the different de- 
grees of enjoyment in the creatures 

249 



250 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

that now surround us. This will be 
as a mirror, in which we can see faint, 
but true, reflections of the vast differ- 
ence there is between the highest and 
the lowest in heaven. 

In order to receive pleasure from 
creatures, it is not enough to be sur- 
rounded with them, or even to possess 
them: we must, moreover, be endowed 
with organs, or faculties, through which 
we can receive and appropriate to our- 
selves the pleasures which, according 
to their nature, they can give. Thus, 
a grand concert, which pours the most 
exquisite pleasures into your soul, gives 
none at all to a deaf man, because he 
lacks the receiving organ, and hence 
the pleasure-giving object is, in his re- 
gard, as if it had no existence. 

But this is not all. Not only does 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 251 

our pleasure depend upon the posses- 
sion of receiving faculties, but the 
amount also, or degree, of that pleas- 
ure, depends upon the development 
and perfection of the same receiving 
organs and faculties. The more highly 
developed and cultivated they are, the 
more intense, also, will be the satisfac- 
tion and pleasure we shall receive 
from any given object; while persons 
of inferior development will receive 
far less, although the object is the 
same for all. Let us make this evi- 
dent by an illustration. 

Take the thousands of persons who 
have read some literary work, say, for 
instance, the Iliad of Homer. They 
all had eyes, and all could read ; they 
all possessed the whole book as com- 
pletely as if it had been written for 



252 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

each one in particular ; and, no doubt, 
they all received pleasure from the pe- 
rusal of that beautiful poem. But, did 
they all receive the same amount of. 
pleasure? They certainly did not. 
Not even two individuals ever received 
the same degree of pleasure or enjoy- 
ment from the perusal of that book. 
Each one received and appropriated to 
himself his own pleasure — which was 
great in proportion to the cultivation 
and elevation of his mind. Hence, 
while a superior and highly cultivated 
mind is entranced at the beauty and 
sublimity of some particular passage, 
an inferior one sees neither meaning 
nor beauty in it, and, perhaps, even 
casts the book aside in disgust. 

It would be easy to multiply illus- 
trations; but this one is sufficient to 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 253 

show that the amount of pleasure we 
derive from the use of creatures de- 
pends upon the degree of development 
and perfection in our receiving facul- 
ties. So it is in heaven, among the 
blessed. ^ They all see and possess God; 
they all love and enjoy Him ; but it 
by no means follows that they all 
enjoy the same amount of happiness 
from that blessed vision. And why 
so ? Because each one sees and enjoys 
only in proportion to his individual 
development and elevation of mind — 
which is given to him by the Light of 
glory. And, as that blessed Light is 
given to each one according to his own 
personal merits, it follows that each 
one sees and enjoys God in proportion 
to the holiness of the life he lived 
while upon earth. 

22 



254 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Hence, they who have practised vir- 
tue in a heroic degree — they who have 
sacrificed the pleasures of this world, 
honors, wealth, and even life itself, for 
God, possess the highest elevation of 
mind, and, consequently, the highest 
degree of enjoyment. They possess 
the most intense and perfect vision of 
the Divine Essence ; they soar higher, 
and penetrate more deeply into the 
unfathomable being of God. They see 
more of the divine beauty, wisdom, 
goodness, and other perfections of God, 
and partake more largely of the Di- 
vine Nature. In a word, their higher 
elevation of mind, by a more intense 
Light of glory, is to them the source 
of the highest and most perfect enjoy- 
ment in the Beatific Vision ; while 
persons of very inferior virtue, though 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 255 

perfectly happy too, enjoy a vastly in- 
ferior degree of blessedness. 

But this is not all. We have seen, in 
a former chapter, that the Beatific Vis- 
ion does not consist in merely gazing 
upon the surpassing beauty of God ; 
and that the mere sight of Him, if it 
could be separated from the possession 
of him, could not make any one happy. 
Wherefore, the sight of God includes 
the possession of Him. It includes, 
moreover, the intense love to which 
that vision gives birth, as well as the 
consequent enjoyment of Him. Now, 
it is evident that a more intense light 
of glory, or a greater elevation of the 
mind, inflames the soul with a more in- 
tense love for God. For, it not only 
reveals to her more of His surpassing 
beauty, but it also reveals more of His 



256 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

unspeakable love for her; and her love 
for Him becomes greater in proportion. 
And the greater the love between the 
soul and God, the more perfect and 
complete also is the union existing be- 
tween them, and, consequently, the 
higher is the happiness enjoyed by the 
soul. 

Thus it is that all the blessed see, 
love, and enjoy God in the Beatific 
Vision. They are all perfectly happy ; 
and yet, among the countless multitude 
of God's children, probably not two 
really enjoy the same degree of happi- 
ness. Each one enjoys according to the 
elevation of his mind, which he has 
deserved by the holiness of his life. 
Not only is there a difference in the de- 
grees of enjoyment, but there is a gulf 
between the highest and the lowest in 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 257 

heaven. It is, moreover, an impassable 
gulf, which the lowest can never cross 
so as to reach the highest happiness of 
heaven. It were far easier for the low- 
est and most uncouth servant-maid in 
a king's palace to reach the dignity and 
glory of a queen, than it is for the low- 
est in heaven to reach the most inti- 
mate degree of union with God. Each 
one is happy in the degree and sphere 
which his life has deserved for him ; 
but in that degree each one will and 
must remain forever. 

I trust that you now understand 
something of the diiBferent degrees of 
happiness in heaven ; and that, at the 
same time, you are filled with a holy 
ambition to reach a high degree of 
union with God. If so, thank God. For 
a high degree of glory in heaven is 

22^ K 



258 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

within the reach of us all, however 
poor, ignorant, or insignificant we may 
be here below. Heaven is not as this 
world, where the mere accident of birth, 
or the smile of fortune, instead of moral 
worth, generally deternlines a man's 
position in society, as well as the 
amount of natural happiness he shall 
enjoy. Hence, no poor girl ever ima- 
gines that, if she be very virtuous, some 
great king will eventually espouse her, 
and elevate her to the dignity and glory 
of a queen. No poor boy ever believes 
that, if he behaves well, and obeys the 
laws of the land as a good citizen, the 
king will, in consequence, eventually 
adopt him as one of his sons, and be- 
stow upon him the honors and pleasures 
which may be enjoyed by royal chil- 
dren. But even supposing such wild 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 259 

dreams could be realized in this world, 
these ignorant and uncouth people could 
not be made happy in their elevated 
position. And why ? Because the king, 
who has the power to give palaces, 
wealth, magnificent dresses, and tables 
loaded with every imaginable luxury, 
has not the power to bestow the eleva- 
tion of mind, polish of manners, and 
other graces which befit queens and 
royal children. Hence, they would 
feel out of place, and be unable to en- 
joy the happiness to which they have 
been elevated. Besides, they would see 
themselves despised, and even ridi- 
culed, by those whose birth and educa- 
tion have fitted them for high society. 
The mere fact, therefore, of their ele- 
vation to high honors, would not clothe 
them with the personal qualities which 



260 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

are necessary to enjoy the highest hon- 
ors and pleasures of this world. 

How different all this is, when there 
is question of heaven ! For, how poor 
and ignorant soever we may now be, we 
may reasonably aspire to a very high 
degree of glory, and to the exquisite 
delights which come from a more inti- 
mate union with God. How insignifi- 
cant soever we may be, and however 
low our position in this world, we may 
aspire to move in the highest society 
in heaven. And not only may we 
aspire to all this, and reach it, by the 
grace of God and the practice of vir- 
tue, but, what is more, we shall be 
made fit for our high position. For 
the moment the vision of God flashes 
upon the soul, we become like Him. 
We shall, therefore, be educated, filled 



THE HAPPINESS OF HE A YEN. 261 

with all knowledge, wisdom, and every 
other perfection. We shall be clothed 
with the personal beauty, refinement, 
and other graces which befit spouses of 
Jesus Christ and children of God. For 
you must ever bear in mind that the 
glory of heaven, besides the elevation 
of our mind by the Light of glory, im- 
plies the elevation of our whole nature 
to the supernatural state. 

Wherefore, not only is our mind ele- 
vated far beyond its present powers by 
the Light of glory, but our body, also, 
is to be exalted by the resurrection far 
beyond its present perfection. As we 
have already seen, all the just are to 
rise in glory, but each one in his own 
degree of perfection. ^^ For, one is the 
glory of the sun, another the glory of 
the moon, and another the glory of the 



262 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

stars. For star differeth from star in 
glory. So, also, in the resurrection of 
the dead.'' Here the Apostle of the 
Gentiles teaches us, in the plainest 
manner possible, that among the saints 
there is a very great difference in the 
degrees of personal beauty, grace, and 
splendor. There is as much difference 
between the beauty and splendor of the 
highest and those of the lowest, as we 
now see between the dazzling splendor 
of the sun and the pale light of the 
moon. As the resurrection is a portion 
of heaven's rewards, it follows that the 
more completely we have mortified our 
inordinate passions, and made our life 
conformable to that of Jesus Christ, 
the more also of personal beauty and 
splendor shall we possess in heaven; 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 263 

and, consequently, the more of heaven's 
happiness we shall enjoy. 

These attributes of personal beauty 
and perfection, and elevation to a high 
position, in heaven, are the very marks 
by which we shall immediately recog- 
nize those who have been most holy, 
and who have done most for God, in 
this world. It will no longer be as 
now, when the wicked prosper, possess 
wealth, honors, and power, while the 
virtuous are not unfrequently poor, 
despised, and even persecuted unto 
death. Hence, the appearance of a 
man and his surroundings are not a 
rule whereby we can rightly judge of 
his sanctity. Thus, when you see a 
man of great personal beauty, highly 
educated, and polished in his manners, 
surrounded with all the magnificence 



264 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

which the world can give, honored 
and idolized by his fellows, enjoying a 
high social position, and all the pleas- 
ures of life, you do not, you cannot 
judge, from all this worldly glory, that 
he is one of the holiest men living. 
He may, indeed, be a good man, but 
the glory which surrounds him is not 
the standard by which you can judge 
of the amount of virtue which he pos- 
sesses. 

In heaven, the glory which sur- 
rounds the saints is a rule, and an in- 
fallible one, by which we can tell the 
amount of virtue they practised while 
living in mortal flesh. Thus, when 
you enter there, you will see some who 
outshine others in splendor as the sun 
outshines the moon. You will see 
them wonderfully transformed into 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEA \^EN. 265 

God, shining like the Divinity in His 
presence ; partaking of the Divine 
Nature in a high degree, and united to 
Him in the most intimate manner. 
You will see them elevated far above 
others in rank, honored and loved in 
a special manner by the angels and 
saints. On seeing them, your first 
thought will be that these are the 
holiest persons in heaven. You will 
judge that their dazzling splendor, 
their wonderful resemblance to God, 
their intimate union with Him, the 
high position they occupy, and the 
exquisite pleasures they enjoy, are all 
so many proofs that, while on earth, 
they loved God with their whole heart, 
and their neighbor as themselves ; that 
they were poor in spirit, humble, pure, 

23 



266 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

patient in adversity, and that perhaps 
some of them laid down their lives for 
God, amidst the most excruciating tor- 
ments. Here is a correct judgment. 
For it is precisely their heroic virtue, 
and not the mere accident of birth or 
the smile of fortune, which gives them 
the superior beauty, glory, and happi- 
ness they now enjoy. 

Then, again, you will see others, who, 
although perfectly happy, are never- 
theless far inferior in their degree of 
union with God and^ personal splen- 
dor. You will immediately infer that 
these practised virtue in an inferior 
degree. Your judgment is right again ; 
for, in heaven, the glory which sur- 
rounds every saint is a rule by which 
we can judge of his moral worth, and 
of the amount of virtue which he 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 267 

practised while living in this world ; 
because there it is all a just reward, 
and not the result of one's birth, or of 
any caprice of fortune. 




CHAPTER XY. 

DEGREES OF ENJOYMENT THROUGH 
THE GLORIFIED SENSES. 

THE possession and enjoyment of 
God in the Beatific Vision is not 
the whole happiness of man in heaven ; 
nor is it the only one in which there 
are different degrees of enjoyment. 
Our senses, also, as well as our minds, 
are to be elevated far beyond their 
present capacities for enjoyment. They, 
too, are to receive a supernatural de- 
velopment, an exquisite delicacy of 
perception, and power of conveying 
pleasures to the soul, in proportion to 
the merits we have acquired by the 

268 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 269 

holiness of our lives. They, conse- 
quently, who have led the holiest lives, 
are not only the most intimately united 
to God, not only the most completely 
transformed into Him by partaking 
more abundantly of the Divine Na- 
ture; but their senses, also, are glorified 
and elevated in power of enjoyment far 
above theirs who have practised virtue 
in an inferior degree. Hence the high- 
est in heaven will receive immensely 
more pleasure through their senses, 
than others whose lives have not been 
so holy. Any contrary doctrine would 
savor of heresy. 

If you were told, for instance, that 
a musician, who never served God, but 
who, nevertheless, received the grace 
of a death-bed repentance, shall, on 
account of his cultivated musical ear, 

28* 



270 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

enjoy more pleasure from heavenly 
music than the Blessed Virgin, the 
apostles, martyrs, and holy virgins, 
your whole soul would undoubtedly 
revolt at such a doctrine. You would 
maintain that if heaven is the reward 
of supernatural virtue, its whole hap- 
piness, its every joy, and its every de- 
light, whether from God himself or 
from creatures, should be enjoyed in a 
higher degree by those who have loved 
and served Him in a more perfect 
manner, and sacrificed themselves more 
completely for Him. 

You would certainly be right in 
maintaining all this, for it is certainly 
so. The highest in heaven will not 
only possess a greater elevation of 
mind — ^ which is necessary to enjoy 
greater pleasure eveh from creatures — 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 271 

but their senses also will be more re- 
fined and acute, and will, therefore, 
enable them to enjoy more refined 
pleasures from the objects of sense. 
It will be as already explained for the 
Beatific Vision. All shall see, hear, 
and otherwise enjoy the creatures pre- 
pared by the Almighty to rejoice the 
senses of His children ; but all shall 
not, on that account, enjoy the same 
amount of pleasure. Each one shall 
receive his own pleasure, according 
to the supernatural perfection of his 
senses which he has deserved by the 
holiness of his life. 

Let us endeavor to understand this, 
by supposing a grand concert given in 
a church, where all classes of society 
are represented. All hear the music, 
both vocal and iiistrumental, and all. 



272 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

no doubt, receive pleasure. But do 
they all receive the same amount of 
pleasure ? They certainly do not. We 
may, for the sake of illustration, divide 
that vast assembly into three general 
classes. The first consists of those 
who have little or no musical ear, and, 
therefore, the concert affords them 
only an inferior pleasure. The next 
class is composed of those who have a 
good natural ear for music, but who 
never have developed and cultivated it 
by study. These evidently receive a 
far greater pleasure than the former. 
But the third class is composed of 
those who not only possess a natural 
talent for music, but who have, more- 
over, developed it by patient and as- 
siduous study. These last receive un- 
bounded pleasure They follow with 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 273 

ease each instrument and yoice into 
the most intricate harmony; they re- 
ceive the most exquisite pleasure pre- 
cisely in those parts where the unedu- 
cated perceive little or no beauty^ be- 
cause the music is too scientific for 
them. 

Here you have the same object of 
pleasure for all. Every one present 
hears the whole concert as if he were 
there alone; and yet, what a difference 
in the pleasure enjoyed by each one! 
We have divided these persons into 
three classes, but, in reality, each one 
forms a class by himself; for there 
are not two of those present, whether 
among the educated or the ignorant, 
who receive precisely the same amount 
of pleasure. Each one appropriates 
and enjoys his own individual pleas- 



274 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

ure, according to the peculiar develop- 
ment of his faculties. 

So it is in heaven. All the blessed 
hear the magnificent harmony, but all 
do not, on that account, enjoy the same 
degree of pleasure. Each one enjoys 
in proportion to his individual devel- 
opment, which is given him as a por- 
tion of his reward. And, as the re- 
ward is given in proportion to the 
holiness of their lives, it follows that 
the holiest enjoy more pleasure than 
others from heavenly music. Evi- 
dently, this holds true of the other 
senses, which also are elevated and re- 
fined according to each one's holiness 
of life. Hence, however talented and 
learned a man may now be in music, 
astronomy, philosophy, poetry, or any 
other natural science, and how keen 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 275 

and perfect soever may be his senses, he 
will not enjoy more pleasure, in virtue 
of these more perfect natural gifts, un- 
less they have been consecrated to the 
service of God. 

This is a truth which you must never 
forget. For it is to be feared that there 
is a half-formed notion in the minds of 
respectable and highlj^ educated per- 
sons, that their superior talents and 
education will enable them to enjoy 
more of heaven's happiness than those 
who either have no great talents or are 
too poor to have them developed by 
study. There can be no greater illu- 
sion. If it were so, the poor, who have 
already suffered so much from their 
humble position, would seemingly have 
reason to complain on seeing the edu- 
cated classes again above them in 



276 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

heaven ; and that, too, merely on ac- 
count of their higher education, and 
other natural advantages. Remember 
that God can and will elevate each one 
in the power of enjoyment, according 
to the holiness of his life, and not ac- 
cording to the natural advantages he 
enjoys in this world. 

But although it is perfectly true that 
natural talents, as such, are not re- 
warded, and, therefore, do not elevate 
their possessors to a higher glory or 
power of enjoyment, the case is quite 
different if these talents have been de- 
veloped under the influence of grace, 
and consecrated to God by supernatural 
motives. In such a supposition, they 
will most certainly be rewarded with 
a higher degree of glory, and an in- 
creased power of enjoyment. Hence, 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 277 

philosophers, theologians, and other 
learned men, who study for the glory 
of God ; poets, who sing the praises of 
God and of his saints ; musicians, who 
devote their talents to the composition 
of sacred music ; the men and the wo- 
men who consecrate their talents and 
lives to the education of youth — all 
these shall undoubtedly have their tal- 
ents rewarded with an increased power 
of enjoyment, because they have super- 
naturalized them by a pure intention, 
and exercised them for the glory of 
God and the salvation of souls. The 
rich man will certainly not be higher 
in heaven on account of his wealth ; 
but he may increase his glory by making 
a proper use thereof. He may relieve 
the necessitiies of the fatherless and the 
widow ; he may build up houses for the 

24 



278 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

education of the poor ; he may increase 
the beauty and the majesty of God's 
temples, and thus change his wealth 
into a means of reaching a very high 
degree of glory in heaven. So with 
you, if you be wealthy, talented, and 
highly educated, although you will not 
be higher in heaven on account of these 
natural advantages, you may vastly in- 
crease your glory by charity to the 
poor, by teaching the ignorant, by writ- 
ing or translating good books, by pur- 
chasing and circulating such pious books 
among the poor, and by otherwise using 
your social position for the advancement 
of religion, and glorifying God with the 
natural advantages He has so liberally 
bestowed upon you. 

But you may, perhaps, ask: Will 
not these different degrees of glory 
cause envy, and, therefore, unhappiness 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 279 

in the lowest among the blessed? Will 
not kings and queens, and other great 
ones of this world, be unhappy if they 
see the poor above them? when they 
see those, to whom they imagined they 
could not even speak without lowering 
their dignity, shining far above them 
in splendor? I answer, that if kings, 
queens, and other great ones of this 
world have the unspeakable good for- 
tune of being admitted into heaven, 
they certainly will not be envious of 
the greater glory they shall behold in 
those upon whom they formerly looked 
down. 

There is no envy in heaven. If we 
once admit the possibility of such a 
thing as envy, then farewell to the 
happiness of heaven. For in such a 
supposition no one could be happy. 
The lowest would envy the happiness 



280 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

of those who are a little higher, and 
these would envy the happiness of the 
highest, and these, again, would envy 
the happiness of the Blessed Virgin ; 
and she, too, would be unhappy, be- 
cause she does not possess the glory of 
the Hypostatic -Union, which is the 
privilege of Jesus Christ alone. The 
absurdity of all this is a sufficient an- 
swer to the question. Each one in 
heaven is satisfied with his own lot, 
because it suits himself and no one else. 
As St. Augustine says: When a tall 
man and a little boy are both dressed 
in a suit of the same precious cloth, 
each is suited and fitted to his satisfac- 
tion. The little boy is neither envious 
nor unhappy because the tall man has 
more cloth than he ; and he certainly 
would not exchange with him. So also 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 281 

in heaven. Every one is there satis- 
fied with his own degree of glory, be- 
cause it suits himself, and gratifies all 
the rational cravings of his nature. 
Not only are the lowest without envy, 
and perfectly satisfied with their de- 
gree of glory, but they even rejoice 
at the higher glory of others. For 
they see that those who enjoy the high- 
est glory of heaven have deserved it 
by the heroic virtues they practised 
while on earth. 

Christian soul, I suppose that now 
you understand something of the de- 
grees of enjoyment in heaven, and that 
you are filled with noble ambition to 
reach a high degree of union with 
God. You no doubt desire to see your 
whole nature so elevated as to have 
the most perfect enjoyment of God 

24* 



282 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

himself, and of the creatures in store 
to rejoice the glorified senses of the 
just. Set to work in good earnest to 
live a holy life ; for it is by so doing 
that we deserve the highest powers of 
enjoyment. A few days of labor and 
struggle, a few days of self-denial, a 
few days of suffering, and then, the 
undisturbed possession and enjoyment 
of God himself, and of His beautiful 
and pure creatures, forever! This is 
what is in store for them that practise 
virtue and persevere unto the end. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE GLORY OF JESUS AND MARY. 

BEFORE entering upon the con- 
templation of the excellent glory 
which surrounds the blessed in heaven, 
we must endeavor to form a correct 
idea of God's grace, which enabled 
them to perform the great and noble 
actions we are now to consider. They 
were all, except Jesus and Mary, con- 
ceived in sin, and, therefore, subject 
to the same temptations that daily as- 
sail us. They never could have tri- 
umphed and reached the supernatural 
glory which now surrounds them, had 

288 



284 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

tliey been left to their own natural 
strength, or rather, weakness. 

When we enter a well- cultivated 
garden, filled with flowers of every 
shade of color and every degree of 
beauty, it never enters into our minds 
that they grew so of themselves, or 
gave to themselves their delicate and 
exquisite perfumes. We know that 
the skill of the gardener had some- 
thing to do with their growth and 
beauty ; we know, moreover, that rain 
and sunshine, the quality of soil, and 
other natural influences, did what was 
totally beyond the power of the gar- 
dener; and finally we come to God, 
who is, ultimately, the sole Author of 
their very life, growth, and perfection. 

We are now to enter God's glorious 
garden to contemplate the beauty of 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 285 

the flowers which He has planted and 
beautified by his grace. Every saint 
is like a flower, beautiful in proportion 
to the amount of grace he received, 
and in proportion, also, to the amount 
of his own free co-operation with this 
grace. Some received the grace of the 
apostleship, and all, except one, corre- 
sponded with that grace. Others re- 
ceived the grace of martyrdom ; others 
received the grace of the priesthood ; 
others the grace of trampling under 
foot the honors and pleasures of this 
world, by consecrating themselves to 
God in religious communities ; while 
others, again, received the grace of 
becoming saints, while living in the 
world. Thus every one, by correspond- 
ing with his own grace, which gave 
him a supernatural strength, reached 



286 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

the glory to which he is entitled. No 
one in the whole of heaven can say 
that he enjoys its happiness by his 
own natural endeavors ; for, without the 
grace of God, we cannot even have a 
good thought, nor pronounce the name 
of Jesus, so as to deserve a supernat- 
ural reward. Hence, the highest in 
heaven must say, with St. Paul : " By 
the grace of God I am what I am : and 
His grace in me hath not been void : 
but I have labored more abundantly 
than all they : yet not I, but the grace 
of God with me.'"^ 

It is by the aid of this grace that 
the blessed have reached the glory of 
heaven ; it is by this all-powerful grace 
that they have deserved the unfading 
crown, whereof St. Paul speaks so 

*1 Cor. XV. 10. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 287 

boldly and confidently, wlien he says : 
" I have fought a good fight, I have 
finished my course, I have kept the 
faith. As to the rest, there is laid up 
for me a crown of justice, which the 
Lord, the just Judge, will render to 
me at that day; and not to me only, 
but to them also, who love His com- 
ing." * This is the glorious crown we 
are now to consider; and first of all, 
in Jesus Christ, who, in His human 
nature, is elevated and glorified far 
above all, in heaven. 

Jesus is the Son of God ; but He is 
also " the Son of Man." As God, His 
glory is from everlasting to everlast- 
ing. It had no beginning, and it shall 
have no end. As its source is in His 
very essence, it can neither be in- 

* 2 Tim. iv. 7. 



288 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

creased nor diminished. But it is far 
different with the glory of the human 
nature which He assumed. That had 
a beginning, and could be increased, 
and, as a matter of fact, was increased, 
until He exalted it above all that is 
not God, in heaven. Let us now con- 
template His bright glory, and rejoice 
with him in his surpassing blessed- 
ness. 

See Him enthroned at the right 
hand of God his Father, clothed with 
" great power and majesty." The per- 
sonal union of the eternal Son of God 
with the human nature gives Him, as 
man, undisputed pre-eminence over 
all, in power, holiness, beauty, and 
every other attribute communicable to 
a created nature. He is so completely 
possessed, embraced, and penetrated 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 289 

by the Divine Nature, that His ador- 
able heart is the throne of the most 
perfect happiness ever enjoyed by man. 
That loving heart, which is purer than 
the sun's brightest rays, is filled to 
overflowing with the most exquisite 
joys emanating from the very bosom 
of the most Holy Trinity. 

While on earth, no one ever loved 
God and man as He did ; and now 
there is none in all the heavens who 
is equally loved in return, both by 
God himself and the bright throngs 
that surround His throne. No man, 
therefore, ever did, or ever can enjoy 
a happiness so pure, so exquisite, and 
in so eminent a degree as He does. 

-While on earth, His soul w^as sor- 
rowful even unto death ; but now it 
is inebriated with torrents of joy, too 

25 T 



290 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

great for poor human language to ex- 
press. While on earth, He likewise 
suffered in all his senses. He endured 
hunger and thirst, cold and heat, 
fatigue, and the numberless privations 
which His poverty entailed upon him. 
But it was especially during His cruel 
passion that his sight, hearing, taste, 
and particularly his sense of feeling, 
were tortured to the utmost ; and now 
his glorified senses have become the 
avenues of the most exquisite and re- 
fined pleasures. He now sees himself 
surrounded by the thousands whom 
His precious blood has sanctified and 
beautified; and he continually hears 
the sweet harmony of their grateful 
songs. His sacred body, which had 
been bruised and mangled, disfigured 
and dishonored by the filthy spittle of 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 291 

His enemies, is now the most beautiful, 
perfect, and resplendent in the whole 
kingdom of heaven. It is the very 
sun which, by its splendor, gives 
beauty and life to the whole of heaven. 
In a word, Jesus, as man, is above all 
in power, majesty, wisdom, glory, and 
enjoys the most perfect and complete 
happiness that ever came from God. 

But you will, perhaps, say : Does not 
Jesus enjoy all this unspeakable glory, 
simply and exclusively in virtue of 
His high privileges? Is it not on 
account of the Hypostatic Union that 
He is thus exalted above all in glory ? 
I answer : Although the Hypostatic 
Union, by its very nature, gives Him 
the right to the first place in heaven, 
it gives him neither the glory nor the 
rewards which are due to him as the 



292 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Redeemer of mankind. The Hypostatic 
Union is a high privilege, a free gift of 
God, which He did not merit ; for that 
privilege, in the designs of his Father, 
involved the office of Redeemer. This 
was His vocation in this world, and 
he corresponded to it faithfully. He 
taught the world, first by example, next 
by His heavenly doctrines. Then He 
submitted willingly, and even cheerful- 
ly, to all the indignities of his bitter 
passion, and finally consummated the 
great work of man's redemption by 
expiring upon the cross. 

It is for all this life of poverty, suf- 
fering, and humiliation, that He is re- 
warded, and so wonderfully glorified, 
and not exclusively on account of the 
Hypostatie Union. Listen to St. Paul, 
and he will tell you why Jesus is ex- 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 293 

alted above all in heaven : " He hum- 
bled Himself, becoming obedient unto 
death, even the death of the cross. 
For which cause God hath also exalted 
Him, and hath given him a name 
which is above all names, that in the 
name of Jesus, every knee should bow 
of those that are in heaven, on earth, 
and under the earth."* Surely this is 
far from saying that Jesus enjoys the 
highest glory of heaven, exclusively 
on account of the Hypostatic Union. 
It is given Him by his Father as a 
" crown of justice," which he really 
deserved by his sufferings and obedi- 
ence unto the death of the Cross. 

It is, moreover, the beautiful canticle 
which forever resounds through the 
vaults of heaven. Listen to it: "Thou 

^ Phil. ii. 8. 
25^ 



294 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

art worthy, O Lord, to take the book, 
and open the seals thereof: because 
Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us 
in Thy blood, out of every tribe, and 
tongue, and people, and nation."* It 
is evident, then, that Jesus is rewarded 
in His human nature with the high- 
est glory of heaven, on account of his 
own individual merits. 

Let us now spend a few moments in 
contemplating the glory of the Blessed 
Virgin. Jesus is the King of heaven ; 
Mary is the Queen. She certainly 
comes next to Jesus in dignity and 
merit, and her glory is, therefore, next 
to His in splendor and magnificence. 
She is the woman of whom the beloved 
disciple speaks when he says: ^^ And a 
great wonder appeared in heaven : a 

■^ Apoc. V. 9. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 295 

woman clothed with, the sun, and the 
moon under her feet, and on her head 
a crown of twelve stars.'"^ This cer- 
tainly expresses the highest glory and 
splendor imaginable. Human words 
can say nothing more ; for our highest 
ideas of glory are borrowed from those 
beautiful worlds that shine above us in 
the blue ether. On her bosom she 
wears a jewel of unsurpassed splendor, 
whereon are written her three singular 
privileges. These are Immaculate, 
Mother of God, Virgin. These are 
high privileges which she alone enjoys, 
and which single her out at once as 
the Queen of angels and of men. 
The Eternal, by assuming flesh from 
her, united her to Himself by a bond 
of intimacy which is second only to 

■^ A| oc. xii. 1. 



296 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

that of the Hypostatic Union. He 
shed His own bright glory around her, 
and enthroned her at the right hand 
of Jesus. The Almighty Father looks 
upon her with complacency, as His 
own beloved daughter, faultless in 
beauty and every other perfection. 
The Holy Ghost calls her His own 
spotless and faithful Spouse, over 
whom the breath of sin never passed ; 
while Jesus who, in all His glory, is 
still flesh of her flesh, and bone of her 
bone, calls her his own sweet and lov- 
ing Mother. Can we conceive any 
greater glory — unless it be that of 
the Hypostatic Union ? 

In this world, a great king may see 
with grief that many other women 
surpass his own mother, daughter, or 
spouse, in beauty, intelligence, virtue. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 297 

and other perfections; but, however 
grieved he may be, he is totally power- 
less to remedy the evil, and he must 
continue to see others outshining those 
who are the dearest to his heart. Not 
so in heaven. Never shall it be said 
there that there are women holier, 
purer, more intelligent, or more beau- 
tiful than the Blessed Virgin. For 
God has the power to clothe her with 
attributes that will forever make her 
superior to any mere creature. Not 
only has He the power, but, as a mat- 
ter of fact, he has adorned her by be- 
stowing upon her every gift of nature, 
grace, and glory, in an eminent degree. 
She, above all saints, is '^full of grace," 
and is made a partaker of the Divine 
Nature, and, therefore, her Immaculate 
Heart, which is purer than crystal, is 



298 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

the home -ot the most perfect happiness 
ever enjoyed by woman. 

But, remember well, she does not en- 
joy all this excellent glory exclusively 
on account of her glorious privileges. 
These are, like those of Jesus, free 
gifts of God, which she did not merit. 
But she freely and generously corre- 
sponded to all the designs of God, and, 
therefore, she is rewarded with the 
highest glory of heaven. She too, as 
well as Jesus, was obedient unto death. 
She too was submissive to the most 
trying dispensations of Providence. 
She too suffered patiently from every 
manner of privation ; for she was poor. 
She too endured the most bitter an- 
guish during the passion of her beloved 
Son, and had her pure soul over- 
whelmed with agonies whereof we can 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 299 

form no adequate conception. Hence, 
God hath also exalted her, and given 
her a name which is above every name 
except that of Jesus. 

Thus we see that even Jesus and 
Mary, the bright King and Queen of 
heaven, are exalted above all angels 
and men in glory, on account of the 
heroic virtue they both practised in 
this world, and not exclusively in vir- 
tue of their dignity and high privi- 
leges. They both labored for it, both 
suffered for it, and both deserved it as a 
"crown of justice," which a just Judge 
bestowed upon them as a reward of 
merit. 

It is impossible to think of Jesus and 
Mary without, at the same time, think- 
ing of the illustrious St. Joseph. He 
is so intimately bound up with them, 



300 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

that we can neither forget him nor 
separate him from them. He was em- 
phatically a hidden saint. He was 
truly " a just man/^ as the Holy Ghost 
calls him. He was so humble, so pure, 
so unspeakably charitable to the Blessed 
Virgin. Then, too, he loved Jesus so 
much, so tenderly, and took so great a 
care of Him during his infancy. When- 
ever he received a command, he always 
obeyed so promptly, without excuse or 
murmur, though at times the commands 
involved great privations and suffer- 
ings. In a word, St. Joseph, too, cor- 
responded with the grace of his sub- 
lime vocation ; and he now shines with 
exceeding glory near Jesus and Mary. 
He too is glorified on account of his 
tender love for God, for Jesus and 
Mary, and for his neighbor, and not 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 301 

exclusively in virtue of the glorious 
privilege of having been the guardian 
of Mary's purity, and the foster-father 
of Jesus. Therefore, his exceeding 
glory is also " a crown of justice," 
wherewith a just Judge has encircled 
his brow. 




26 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE GLORY OF THE MARTYRS. 

WE shall now contemplate the 
glory of the vast multitude of 
the blessed, who surround the thrones 
of Jesus and Mary. I quote from the 
Apocalypse : ^' After this, I saw a 
great multitude, which no man could 
number, of all nations, and tribes, and 
peoples, and tongues : standing before 
the throne, and in the sight of the 
Lamb, clothed with white robes, and 
palms in their hands."* This glorious 
multitude represents all the blessed. 
They may be divided into eight classes, 

■^ Apoc. vii. 9. 

302 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 303 

namely, the martyrs, the doctors and 
confessors, the virgins, the religious, the 
penitents, the pious people, those of in- 
ferior virtue, and the baptized infants. 
In this chapter we shall consider the 
glory of the Martyrs. 

See that beautiful army of martyrs 

— those brave soldiers of Jesus Christ 

— who died for Him, and like him, in 
the midst of the most cruel torments. 
Theirs is truly '' a crown of justice." 
They are represented as holding palms 
in their hands, in token of the victory 
which they gained over the world. 
Their intimate union with God, the 
dazzling splendor of their personal ap- 
pearance, the high honors conferred 
upon them, single them out at once as 
those champions of the faith who, while 
on earth, served God in a heroic degree. 



304 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

And they certainly served Him with 
distinction ; for they proved their love 
by laying down their lives for Him. 
Laying down one's life for God has al- 
ways been looked upon as the most per- 
fect act of love possible; for "Greater 
love than this no man hath, that a man 
lay down his life for his friends." * 
Hence, the martyrs, as a class, have 
always been considered as deserving 
the highest honors of heaven. 

The beautiful words of the Holy 
Ghost in reference to all the just ap- 
ply with peculiar force to the martyrs : 
" But the souls of the just are in the 
hand of God : and the torment of 
death shall not touch them. In the 
sight of the unwise they seemed to 
die : and their departure was taken for 

■^ John XV. 13. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 305 

misery : and their going away from us 
for utter destruction ; but they are in 
peace. And though in the sight of 
men they suffered torments, their hope 
is full of immortality. Afflicted iii a 
few things, in many they shall be re- 
warded : because God hath tried them, 
and found them worthy of himself. 
As gold in the furnace, He hath 
proved them ; and as the victim of a 
holocaust, he hath received them." ^ 

What a bright and beautiful crowd 
they are ! As a garden is beautified 
by flowers, so is heaven made more 
beautiful by the radiant crimson-clad 
army of martyrs. Here is St. John 
the Baptist, the fearless precursor of 
Jesus. Here is the glorious St. Stephen, 
the first who laid down his life after 

"^ Wis. iii. 
26^ U 



306 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

the ascension of Jesus. Here are the 
holy Apostles, those intrepid soldiers 
of Christ, who went forth from the 
council, rejoicing that they had been 
found worthy to suffer for the name 
of Jesus. The prediction of their 
Divine Master was verified in them: 
^' For they shall deliver you up in 
councils, and they will scourge you in 
their synagogues. And you shall be 
brought before governors, and before 
kings for my sake. . . . And you shall 
be hated by all men for my sake.'"^ . , . 
"Yea, the hour cometh that whosoever 
killeth you, will think that he doeth a 
service to God." f 

But in spite of all this hatred and 
persecution, they sowed the seed of the 
word of God in the hearts of men, 

* Matt. X. I John xvi. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 307 

and watered it with their own blood. 
They now enjoy a peculiar glory in 
heaven ; for, besides the glory which 
belongs to them as martyrs, they also 
enjoy that which belongs to them as 
Apostles, promised to them in these 
words of our blessed Lord : '^ Amen, I 
say to you, that you, who have followed 
me, in the regeneration, when the Son 
of Man shall sit on the seat of His 
majesty, you shall also sit on twelve 
seats, judging the twelve tribes of 
Israel." * 

Here are also so many holy Popes, 
and bishops, and priests, the worthy 
successors of the Apostles, who, like 
them, joyfully laid down their lives for 
the love of Jesus Christ. Here is also 
that countless multitude of holy mis- 

^ Matt. xix. 28. 



308 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

sionaries, who, like the Apostles, went 
forth into all nations to preach the 
gospel. They, too, were " brought be- 
fore governors, and before kings," and 
sealed their faith with their blood. 
Here, too, are holy virgins, who pre- 
ferred death, in all its horrid shapes, 
rather than stain their souls, or have 
another spouse besides Jesus, to whom 
they had consecrated themselves. The 
grace of God changed them from timid, 
retiring virgins, into dauntless hero- 
ines, and enabled them to suffer death 
with superhuman courage and con- 
stancy. Here are also married men 
and women, fathers and mothers, who 
loved God more than they loved their 
children. Here, even, are little chil- 
dren, who astounded the heartless 
tyrants by the admirable patience and 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 309 

heroism which they displayed amidst 
the most refined cruelties. Here, too, 
are venerable old men and women, 
who, in spite of the infirmities of age, 
ascended the scafibld with a firm step, 
and suffered death with undaunted 
constancy. All these, like St. Paul, 
have fought a good fight, and all, 
without exception, have received a 
" crown of justice " at the hands of 
a just Judge. They all enjoy the 
high rewards which Jesus promised 
to His heroic followers, when he said : 
" Blessed are they that suffer perse- 
cution for justice' sake : for theirs is 
the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are 
you when men shall revile you, and 
persecute you, and shall say all man- 
ner of evil against you falsely, for my 
sake : rejoice, and be exceeding glad : 



310 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

because your reward is very great in 
heaven." * 

But, before leaving these to consider 
the glory of others, we must remark 
that, although they are all martyrs, 
they do not, on that account, all enjoy 
the same degree of glory. They are 
all stars ; but " star differeth from star 
in glory.'^ Each martyr is clothed in 
his own brightness, which is great in 
proportion to the intensity of his love 
for God, and the amount of suffering 
endured for Him. Some were sim- 
ply put to death, without any addi- 
tional torture. Others were impris- 
oned, scourged, and then put to death; 
while others again were tortured for 
days, weeks, and even months, with the 
most frightful torments. Again, some 

. - Matt. Y. 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 311 

came to their martyrdom totally de- 
void of any previous virtue ; some even 
loaded with sin, and unbaptized : but 
they received a baptism of blood — 
which made them pure, and deserved 
for them the high honors of heaven. 
Nevertheless, the glory that surrounds 
such is far inferior to that which sur- 
rounds those who, like St. John the 
Baptist, St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Andrew, 
and a host of others, came to their 
martyrdom loaded with the merits of 
a life spent in the practice of heroic 
virtue. 




CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE GLORY OF THE DOCTORS AND 
CONFESSORS. 

LET US now turn our eyes to another 
bright throng. It is composed of 
the Doctors and Confessors of the 
Church. These too, as well as the 
martyrs, enjoy the high honors of 
heaven. Here we meet again the 
Apostles, who were filled with the 
Holy Ghost, and instructed the infant 
Church in all truth. There, too, are 
their worthy successors in the ministry 
— such men as St. John Chrysostom, 
St. Augustine, St. Gregory, St. Thomas, 
and a multitude of others — whose 

312 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 313 

vast intellects were stored with the 
knowledge of God. They gained a 
signal victory over the devil — who is 
the father of lies. By their eloquence, 
and by their writings, they enlightened 
the Church, not only in their day, but 
for all time to come. They are now 
crowned with the peculiar glory which 
is promised to all such : " They that 
are learned shall shine as the bright- 
ness of the firmament: and they that 
instruct many unto justice, as the stars 
for all eternity.'^ ^ 

But you must not imagine that the 
great lights of Christianity, such as 
the Apostles, or a St. Augustine, a St. 
Thomas, and others, who have been 
proclaimed doctors of the Church, are 
alone in their glory. This class also 

^Dan. xii. 3 
27 



314 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

includes the glorious confessors of the 
Church — all holy Popes, bishops, and 
priests, who have zealously and faith- 
fully preached the gospel to their 
flocks. It comprises also all those 
holy missionaries who, like the Apos- 
tles, preached Jesus crucified to the 
heathens, and brought them into the 
one true fold. These holy confessors, 
though not proclaimed doctors by the 
Church, nevertheless shine " as the 
stars for all eternity." 

But, besides these glorious confes- 
sors, there are still others who partake 
of the peculiar glory promised to them 
" that instruct many unto justice." 
These are the innumerable multitudes 
of men and women who compose the 
different religious orders of the Church 
— who spend their lives in the educa- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 315 

tion of youth. There are, moreover, 
the writers, translators, and publishers 
of good books, and others, who, though 
not bound by any vows, devote them- 
selves to the diffusion of religious know- 
ledge. Among these, particular men- 
tion must be made of good parents, 
whose first care is to teach the know- 
ledge and love of God to their chil- 
dren. In a word, all they who have, 
in any way, instructed others unto 
justice, partake of the peculiar glory 
of the doctors and confessors of 
the Church, though, no doubt, in an 
inferior degree. For the promise of a 
special reward is not made exclusively 
to a few gifted intellects, but to all, 
without any exception. "They that 
shall teach many unto justice, shall 
shine as the stars for all eternity." 
Yet, although if is true that instruct- 



316 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

ing others unto justice deserves a pecu- 
liar reward, we must not forget that 
the preaching of the gospel will not, 
of itself, glorify any one, unless it is 
accompanied by a pure intention,' and 
the practice of virtue. Even if Judas, 
as an apostle, instructed many unto 
justice, he certainly does not now shine 
as a star on that account. Evidently, 
then, holiness of life must accompany 
our teaching of others. This is what 
our Blessed Lord tells us in the most 
positive manner, when he says : " He 
that shall do and teach , he shall be 
called great in the kingdom of heaven.''* 
Hence, you must ever remember that, 
how gifted soever you may be, however 
eloquent, and how many soever you 
may havf taught unto justice, you 

^ Matt. V. 19. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 317 

never can shine as a star in heaven, 
unless you at the same time lead a 
Christian life. Without this, your 
preaching will profit you nothing, even 
if others are saved by your eloquence. 




27* 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE GLORY OF THE YIRGHSrS AND • 
RELIGIOUS. 

HERE are two other bright throngs 
that present themselves. They 
are the holy Virgins and the Religious. 
Let us first contemplate the bright 
glory of the virgins. I quote again 
from the Apocalypse : ^' And I heard a 
great voice from heaven. . . . And the 
voice which I heard was as the voice 
of harpers, harping upon their harps. 
And they sang as it were a new canti- 
cle before the throne. . . . And no man 
could say that canticle but those hun- 
dred and forty-four thousand. These 

318 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 319 

are they who were not defiled with wo- 
men : for they are virgins. These fol- 
low the Lamb whithersoever He go- 
eth.'^ * 

These evidently form a distinct class. 
in heaven. It is composed of both 
men and women who never married, 
nor lost their virtue by actual sin. I 
speak here of such as these, and not of 
any others. Hence, we must exclude 
from this class all little children, who 
died before they could be responsi- 
ble for their deeds ; for, though they 
all died virgins, their virginity, which 
was a gift of nature, does not deserve 
a " crown of justice." Wherefore, in 
this place we shall consider the excel- 
lent glory of those only, who, having 
grown to the age of discretion, led a 

■^Apoc. xiv. 



320 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN". 

life of purity, and died virgins. Evi- 
dently these alone have purchased the 
glory promised to virgins. Many of 
them led holy lives while living in the 
world — either with or without vow ; 
while the great majority were so en- 
raptured with the beauty and purity 
of Jesus, that they cheerfully gave up 
all the lawful pleasures of the world, 
and consecrated themselves to Him by 
the vows of poverty, chastity, and obe- 
dience. In this life of suffering and 
self-denial they persevered unto the 
end. 

Their day of trial and suffering is 
now over, and they are rewarded with 
exceeding glory. Clad in their white 
robes, which denote the spotless purity 
of their lives, they enjoy a peculiar and 
intimate union with Jesus, their be- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 321 

loved Spouse. While on earth, they 
would have no other spouse but Him. 
They consecrated themselves to Him, 
and he accepted the noble sacrifice. By 
His grace he sanctified and beautified 
them,' and made them worthy of the 
special glory they now eujoy. How 
beautiful they are ! How glorious ! 
They are the lilies of heaven. In the 
words of the Holy Ghost, we may ex- 
claim : '' O how beautiful is the chaste 
generation with glory ! for the memory 
thereof is immortal : because it is known 
both with God and with men. When 
it is present, they imitate it : and they 
desire it wdien it hath withdrawn itself: 
and ittriumpheth forever, winning the 
reward of undefiled conflicts." * 

Yet, while it is true that those who 

^ Wis. IV. 
V 



322 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

die virgins are rewarded with a pecu- 
liar glory, we must not forget that vir- 
ginity alone can neither deserve the 
high honors of heaven, nor even save 
any one, unless it is accompanied by 
the virtues which befit a spouse of 
Christ. There are many foolish vir- 
gins, who are not even admitted to the 
wedding -feast, because they are not 
adorned with charity, and other virtues 
which belong to their state. 

We must ever remember that the 
crown worn by the virgins in heaven is 
only an accidental glory ; for if it were 
essential, no one except virgins could 
be happy there. Virginity is, there- 
fore, far from being the greatest of 
virtues, or the most necessary to reach 
the high honors of heaven. For, to 
use the strong language of the Apostle, 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEA\^EN. 323 

if you could speak with the tongues 
of angels and men ; and if you knew 
all mysteries, and had all knowledge ; 
and if you had faith, so as to remove 
mountains, and have not charity — 
even though you be a virgin — you are 
become as sounding brass and a tink- 
ling cymbal. Neither will your vir- 
ginity, nor all other gifts, profit you 
anything without charity. 

See, therefore, that you endeavor to 
clothe your soul with those virtues 
which befit a spouse of Jesus Christ. 
Love God above all things. Be ex- 
tremely charitable to all. Be humble, 
modest, reserved. Lead a life of mor- 
tification, silence, and prayer. For un- 
less you lead such a life as your voca- 
tion requires, you expose yourself to 
hear the terrible words spoken to the 



324 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

foolish virgins. When they came to 
the wedding, they stood at the dcor, 
and said, ^'Lord, Lord, open to us. 
But He answering, said : Amen, I say 
to you, I know you not." ^ 

But if you do lead the charitable life 
of a true spouse of Christ, you shall 
undoubtedly reach a high degree of 
glory in heaven ; and, besides, you will 
wear the virgins' crown, and enjoy the 
special intimate union with Jesus which 
is promised to all those who, despising 
the short-lived pleasures of this world, 
have consecrated themselves to His 
divine service. 

Let us now spend a few moments in 
contemplating the high glory of the 
religious. This class is composed ex- 
clusively of men and women who, while 

* Matt. XXV. 11. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 325 

on earth, consecrated themselves to God 
by the vows of poverty, chastity, and 
obedience. Many of them — perhaps 
the great majority — are virgins, while 
others are not. For many of them, 
like a St. Francis Borgia, were widow- 
ers ; and others, like a St. Frances of 
Rome, w^ere widows. Others, again, 
there are, who, when young and fool- 
ish, committed sin, by which they may 
have ceased to be virgins, but who 
nevertheless received a most marked 
vocation to the religious life. All these, 
as well as virgins, enjoy a peculiar glory 
in heaven, which is due to them as a 
*' crown of justice," on account of the 
great sacrifices they made to God by 
the vows of religion. 

By the vow of poverty, they not 
only stripped themselves of all their 

28 



326 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

possessions — they, moreover, gave up 
the natural right which all men have 
to possess property. By the vow of 
chastity, they gave up the natural right 
which all men have to enjoy the lawful 
pleasures of the body. By the vow of 
obedience, they not only relinquished 
forever the right to dispose of them- 
selves, but they also placed themselves 
in the hands of their superiors, to be 
ruled and governed by them as if they 
were little children. Thus, by one 
single act, religious persons abandon all 
that is dearest to the heart of man ac- 
cording to nature; for they not only 
give up all their possessions — the 
world, with its honors and pleasures — 
they not only sacrifice their liberty — 
they also abandon father and mother, 
brother and sister, friends and rela- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 327 

tives. In a word, they cut themselves 
away from the world, and all that 
makes life bright and desirable, accord- 
ing to nature. And what is more, 
they embrace a life of continual mor- 
tification and self-denial. 

It is true, the grace of God, which 
enables men and women to make 
such sacrifices, makes the life of reli- 
gious tolerable ; but this does not pre- 
vent it from being a life of a continual 
and painful struggle against the inclina- 
tions and cravings of nature. From 
all this, it follows that religious, as 
such, whether virgins or not, enjoy an 
exceeding glory in heaven on account 
of the sublime sacrifice of themselves 
they have made to God by the three 
vows of religion. This is what our 
Blessed Lord promises, when he says : 



328 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

"And every one that hath left hoase^ 
or brethren, or sisters, or fath(;r, oi 
mother, or wife, or- children, or lands 
for my name's sake, shall receive a 
hundred-fold, and shall possess life 
everlasting/' 

In speaking of the three vgws, theo- 
logians compare them to martyrdom. 
They maintain that, as a man who lays 
down his life for the faith enters 
heaven immediately, without any de- 
tention in purgatory, so also does a 
religious who dies immediately after 
taking his vows. Whatever temporal 
punishment was due to him on account 
of his sins, is entirely cancelled by that 
one act. And the reason they give is, 
that the act of sacrificing one's self to 
God by the vows of religion is, like 
martyrdom, one of the noblest and 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 329 

most heroic acts that man can per- 
form. 

If then, virgins, as such, are reward- 
ed with a peculiar glory in heaven, 
what shall we say of the glory and 
splendor which surrounds religious ? 
For virgins make only one great sac- 
rifice, by the practice of perfect chas- 
tity, while religious, who make the 
same sacrifice, add to this two others, 
namely, poverty and obedience. And 
experience teaches that these two ad- 
ditional vows are, for most persons, far 
more diflScult, because they involve far 
more sufifering and self-denial than the 
mere practice of chastity. From all 
this it follows, that virgins who are 
religious, enjoy a far higher degree of 
glory in heaven than those who are 

28* 



330 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

not religious. It follows, also, that 
religious, as such, whether virgins or 
not, enjoy an exceeding glory in heav- 
en, in virtue of the great sacrifices 
they have made for God by the three 
vows of religion. Like Jesus, they 
were poor, chaste, and obedient unto 
death; and like Him also, they are ex- 
alted to the high honors of heaven. 

But, although it is true that reli- 
gious, as such, enjoy a high glory in 
heaven, it must not be inferred that 
they all enjoy the same degree of 
glory. There is, perhaps, not a class 
in heaven in which the degrees of 
glory are so various. Some of them 
died only a few days after taking their 
vows; others, on the day itself; while 
others lived half a century, and more, 
in the practice of the most heroic vir- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 331 

tue. Some were called by the grace 
of God after a life of worldliness and 
sin ; while others had already reached 
a high degree of sanctity when they 
offered their sacrifice to God. Others 
again, after their consecration to God, 
were extremely faithful to grace, and 
gave all the energies of their nature to 
the acquirement of greater perfection; 
while others were sadly wanting in 
generosity to God, and aimed at only 
an inferior degree of holiness. Again, 
some had few or no temptations from 
the day upon which they took their 
vows; while for others that act seemed 
to be a declaration of war, for they 
began to be assailed by every manner 
of temptation to violate their vows and 
go back into the world. But, aided 
by the all-powerful grace of God, they 



332 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

resisted manfully, and fought the good 
fight unto the end. 

These, and a thousand other differ- 
ences, give rise to various degrees of 
glory among the religious, who, having 
finished their course, have received the 
crown of life. They who, like a St. 
Aloysius, a St. Stanislaus, a St. The- 
resa, and many others, practised every 
virtue in a heroic degree, are among 
the brightest and the highest in glory; 
while they who led less perfect lives 
are far inferior. Nevertheless, all, 
without exception, enjoy a peculiar 
glory, which is due to them as a 
'' crown of justice" for the great sacri- 
fice they made to God by the three 
vows of religion. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE GLORY OF PENITENTS AND PIOUS 
PEOPLE. 

WHO are they that compose yonder 
bright multitude? They are 
headed by a queen who does not wear 
a virgin's crown; and yet, she is so 
beautiful, and enjoys so intimate a 
union with Jesus. Who is she ? She 
is Mary Magdalen, the bright queen 
of Penitents, and the star of hope to 
all who have grievously sinned in this 
world. 

She was once a sinner, and such a 
sinner ! Her soul was the home of 
seven devils! She was a hireling of 

833 



334 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Satan, to catch the souls of men. But 
a flash of light came forth from the 
Heart of Jesus, and in that light she 
saw herself sinful and hateful in the 
eyes of God. His grace filled her 
heart with a deep and crushing sorrow 
for her many sins. Prostrate at the 
feet of Jesus, she kissed them, and 
washed them with the tears of true re- 
pentance. Jesus, who never despised 
or rejected repentant sinners, com- 
manded the devils to depart from her ; 
He then washed her soul, and made 
her clean as an angel. Her many sins 
were forgiven her, because she loved 
much ; for her deep contrition was not 
dictated by servile fear, but by pure 
love. After the ascension of Jesus, 
she shut herself up in a grotto, where 
she wept and did bitter penance dur- 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEIS. 335 

ing the remainder of her days. When 
her last hour was ccmie, the angels de- 
scended from heaven, and took her 
pure soul to the bosom of Jesus. Her 
intense love and her penitential tears 
deserved for her a " crown of justice." 
They beautified and glorified her far 
above many a one who never sinned 
grievously ; for she is crowned with 
the high honors of heaven, and en- 
joys a union with Jesus far more in- 
timate than many who never offended 
God. 

Nor is she alone in this exceeding 
glory wherewith an ardent love and 
penance clothe sinners. Thousands 
of others who sinned grievously, and 
imitated her penance, are now shining 
in glory far above others who never 
sinned. , Think you that St. Peter, 



336 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

who denied his Lord, is below all those 
who preserved their innocence, and 
even below all the baptized infants in 
heaven? Think you that St. Paul, who 
once persecuted the Church, is now be- 
low all on that account ? Think you 
that the great St. Augustine, St. Mary 
of Egypt, St. Pelagia, and a host of 
other illustrious penitents, are all be- 
low mere babes on account of their 
sins ? They certainly are not. Their 
intense love for God, their sorrow, and 
their tears atoned for their sins, and 
placed them far, very far above many 
who, though they never sinned griev- 
ously, never performed an act of he- 
roic virtue in their whole lives. 

Kemember that charity, by which is 
meant love for God and for our neigh- 
bor, is the greatest of virtues, and has 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 337 

the power of elevating the greatest 
sinners to the highest glory of heaven. 
Mary Magdalen, therefore, though once 
a great sinner, is, at this moment, en- 
joying a most intimate union with 
Jesus, and shines like a very star, in 
the presence of God. 

Even in this world she is glorified 
far above many who were not sinners. 
When Jesus sat at the table of Simon 
the Leper, Mary Magdalen anointed 
Him with precious ointment. Some of 
the Apostles complained of the waste ; 
but Jesus defended her conduct, and 
added: "Amen, I say to you, where- 
soever this gospel shall be preached, 
that also which she hath done, shall 
be told for a memorial of her." ^ 
Again, we read in the Gospel of St. 

^ Matt. xiv. 9. 
29 W 



338 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Mark, that Jesus, "rising early the 
first day of the week, appeared first to 
Mary Magdalen, from whom He had 
east out seven devils." ^ Again, in 
the Litany of the Saints, the Church 
places the name of Mary Magdalen 
before all the virgins. This is cer- 
tainly a high honor. Her feast, also, 
is one of a higher order than that of 
Martha her virgin sister, and above 
that of many other virgins ; for she is 
the only woman, besides the Blessed 
Virgin Mary, who, in her mass, enjoys 
the privilege of the Credo. No other 
woman, whether a virgin-saint or not, 
enjoys that privilege, unless she is the 
patroness of a particular church. In 
that case, the Credo is said in her own 
church, but nowhere else ; while for 

* Mark xvi. 9. 



THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 339 

Mary Magdalen it is said in every 
church of the world. There is, more- 
over, a congregation of Magdalens, 
whereof she is the model and patron- 
ess. It is attached to the order of 
the Good-Shepherd, and is filled, not 
only with women who have sinned, but 
with virgins, too, who have fallen in 
love with the beautiful penitential 
spirit of Mary Magdalen. 

All this must certainly be very con- 
soling to those who have sinned griev- 
ously, and who have, perhaps, thought 
that, on account of their sins, they 
have lost all right to a high place in 
heaven. Mary Magdalen, St. Peter, 
St. Augustine, and a host of other 
illustrious penitents, teach us that a 
high degree of glory is ours, no matter 
what sins we have committed, if we 



340 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

love ardently, lead a penitential life, 
and practise other virtues in an emi- 
nent degree. 

There is one more beautiful throng 
standing around the throne of God, 
and enjoying a high degree of glory 
in heaven. It is made up of the vast 
multitude of men and women who 
sanctified themselves while living in 
the world. They are known as the 
Pious people. They lived in the world, 
but were not of it. They did not live 
according to its spirit; for its spirit 
is the sworn enemy of God. Many 
of them, while surrounded with the 
wealth and magnificence of this world, 
practised the virtues of the cloister. 
Others belonged to the middle classes 
of society; and others, again, to the 
poorer classes. But in whatever class 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 341 

their lot was cast, they all sanctified 
themselves by loving God and their 
neighbor, and by acquitting themselves 
of their respective duties. What a beau- 
tiful and glorious throng they are ! 

Here are kings and queens who, in 
their exalted position, knew how to be 
humble, and who used their wealth 
and position for the benefit of their 
subjects. Here are representatives of 
all professions and trades in society 
— lawyers, physicians, soldiers, trades- 
men, and cultivators of the soil. Here, 
too, are the servants of the rich, who 
thought it a kindness to be allowed 
to do all drudgery, in order to have 
wherewith to live. Here are good 
husbands and wives, who truly loved 
each other, and were faithful unto 
death. Here are those good parents 

29^ 



342 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

whose first care was to teach their chil- 
dren the knowledge and love of God. 
Here, too, are the good children who 
honored their parents, and cared for 
them with a tender charity, when age 
and infirmity had rendered them help- 
less. Here, too, are young men, and 
young women, who, though they had 
no call to consecrate their virginity to 
Jesus Christ, led the lives of angels 
amid the fascinations of the world. 

All these have led pious lives. 
They mortified their passions; they 
were given to prayer ; they frequented 
the sacraments ; they performed acts 
of charity according to their means ; 
and practised the virtues of their rank 
and calling. All these have, there- 
fore, reached the honors and distinc- 
tions which God distributes among 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 343 

them who have served Him with fidel- 
ity. Though they are neither mar- 
tyrs, nor doctors, nor religious, they 
all led holy lives; they all have re- 
ceived a " crown of justice," which 
was due to them as a reward for their 
love of God, and for the virtues they 
practised while on earth. Many of 
them were great saints, such as a St. 
Louis, king of France ; a St. Eliza- 
beth, queen of Portugal ; a St. Monica, 
widow ; a St. Genevieve, the virgin- 
shepherdess ; a St. Zita, the angelic 
servant-girl ; and many others, whom 
the Church has placed upon her altars, 
and proposed to our imitation. 

You see, then, that the high honors 
of heaven do not belong, exclusively, 
to any privileged classes, as you might 
imagine the martyrs, doctors, virgins, 



344 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

and religious to be. A high degree 
of glory is offered to all, and by the 
grace of God is attainable by all, with- 
out any exception. If, therefore, you 
have hitherto looked upon it as a pre- 
sumption to aim at a high degree of 
glory, because you were neither a con- 
secrated virgin nor a religious, banish 
such a thought from your mind. For, 
instead of being a presumption, it is 
a virtue to aspire to a high sanctitj^ 
and, consequently, to a high degree 
of union with God in heaven. There- 
fore, whether you are married or sin- 
gle, rich or poor, learned or ignorant, 
you are called upon by your Lord 
Jesus to fight the good fight unto the 
end, with a solemn assurance that, 
when you have finished your course, a 
just Judge will encircle your brow 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 345 

with a '' crown of justice/' and admit 
you into the society of those who sig- 
nalized themselves in His service. 

Before closing this chapter, we must 
say a few words, at least, about the 
two remaining classes of the blessed, 
and, probably, by far the most numer- 
ous in heaven. The one is composed 
of those who were not pious, nor gen- 
erous to God. Many of them sinned 
often, and grievously, and did very 
little to atone for their sins ; and the 
virtues they practised were few, and 
never brought to any perfection. This 
class also includes all those who spent 
their whole lives in sin, and who were 
saved, like the thief on the cross, by 
the grace of a death-bed repentance. 
Evidently, neither these, nor others 
who practised scarcely any virtue, are 



346 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

crowned with the high honors of 
heaven, which are the reward of a 
virtuous life. They are, nevertheless, 
perfectly happy, in their own degree, 
and sing the mercies of God, who saved 
many of them almost in spite of them- 
selves. Theirs may be called a crown 
of mercy, rather than one of justice. 

The other class is composed of bap- 
tized infants, and of children who died 
before they were responsible for their 
deeds. These form by far the most 
numerous class in heaven, if it be true 
that one-half of all the children that 
are born die before the age of seven. 
But in heaven they are no longer chil- 
dren ; for their elevation to glory has 
developed them into men and women. 
They therefore enjoy the full perfection 
of human nature, as well as those who 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 347 

died adults. They are, moreover, ad- 
mitted to the Beatific Vision, and, con- 
sequently, they see, love, and enjoy 
God, and partake of the additional 
pleasures of heaven, as well as they 
who lived longer on earth. They, and 
they alone, enjoy the happiness of 
heaven entirely as a free gift of God, 
without any co-operation of their own. 
They are in heaven in virtue of their 
adoption as children of God, and 
through the merits of Jesus Christ. 

Whatever may be their degree of 
glory, we certainly can never place 
them on a level with the Apostles, mar- 
tyrs, confessors, virgins, religious, and 
pious people who have fought a good 
fight against the world, the devil, and 
the flesh. They never sinned, it is 
true, but neither did they ever make 



348 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

an act of faith, of hope, of charity, or 
perform any other act of virtue. Hence, 
theirs may be called a crown of liber- 
ality ; for they enjoy their beatitude as 
a free gift of God's unspeakable lib- 
erality. Their never-ending song is, 
therefore, one of gratitude to God for 
taking them out of the world before 
their souls could be defiled by sin, or 
their little hearts turned away from 
virtue by the fascinations of the world. 
Here, then, kind reader, we have the 
whole multitude that we saw standing 
around the throne of God. Though 
we have divided them into different 
classes, and considered their glory sep- 
arately, you must not infer from this 
that the blessed are really separated 
from each other in heaven. For how 
greatly soeve}* the glory of the highest 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 349 

may difier from that of the lowest, they 
all, nevertheless, compose one great 
family of brothers and sisters, of whom 
God is the Father, Jesus Christ the 
Elder Brother as well as the King, and 
Mary the Mother as well as the Queen. 
They all mingle together, converse, and 
otherwise enjoy each other's society ; 
for they are all united by the bond of 
the purest charity. They all exclaim, 
with the royal Prophet : " Behold, how 
good and how pleasant it is for breth- 
ren to dwell together in unity. . . . 
For there, the Lord hath commanded 
blessing, and life for evermore." * They 
all are happy, because they all see, love, 
and enjoy God, as well as the addi- 
tional pleasures with which He perfects 
and completes the happiness of His be- 



so 



350 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAYEN. 

loved children. They are all filled to 
overflowing with the happiness of which 
the royal Prophet speaks, when he says : 
" They shall be inebriated with the 
plenty of Thy house : and Thou shalt 
make them drink of the torrent of Thy 
pleasure. For with Thee is the foun- 
tain of life."* By their union with 
the Fountain of Life, which is God 
himself, the blessed see all their desires 
fulfilled, and, knowing not what more 
to crave, they rest in God as their last 
end, and enjoy him forever. 

* Ps. XXXV. 




CHAPTER XXI. 

THE ETERNITY OF HEAVEN's HAPPINESS. 

HAVING endeavored, in the fore- 
going pages, to form to ourselves 
some idea of the glorious happiness 
reserved for us in heaven, there still 
remains to say something of its crown- 
ing glory — the eternity of its duration. 
This is not only its crowning glory, but 
it is, moreover, an essential constituent 
of that unspeakable joy which now in- 
ebriates the souls of the blessed. A 
moment's reflection will make this evi- 
dent. 

Let us suppose, for the sake of illus- 
tration, that on the last day, God should 

351 



352 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

thus speak to the blessed : " Dearly be- 
loved children, you are now happy, 
and you shall continue so for a very 
long time, but not forever. When I 
promised you eternal life, I did not 
really mean a life without end. I alone 
can live forever. I have created a lit- 
tle bird whose office it is, every thou- 
sand years, to take away from the earth 
one grain of sand, or a drop of water, 
and carry it to the place I have ap- 
pointed. And when it will have thus 
removed the whole earth, all the oceans, 
rivers, and lakes, you shall all die a 
second death, and be no more forever." 
How many ages do you think it would 
take, at that rate, to remove this whole 
world to another place? Of course, 
you cannot even form a conception of 
the countless ages it would require. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAYEN. 353 

The most gifted mind is bewildered 
and lost in those millions and billions 
of ages. It seems as if that little bird 
never would come to the last atom ; and 
to us, children of time, that vast dura- 
tion seems like an eternity. And yet, 
if such a revelation were made to the 
blessed, they would again sorrow and 
mourn : the tears would again flow 
from their eyes, because the canker- 
worm that eats away all earthly hap- 
piness would have found entrance into 
heaven. 

Evidently, then, the eternity of 
heaven is essential to complete the 
happiness of God's children. 

Among the many defects which mar 
our happiness in this world, there are 
three capital ones, which we shall con- 
sider for a few moments. The happi 

80* X 



354 THE HAPPINESS OP HEAVEN. 

ness of this world is not and cannot be 
permanent, because we are change- 
able, because the objects of our hap- 
piness are also subject to change, and 
finally, because death must eventually 
tear us away from this world. 

1. We ourselves are changeable by 
nature. This is a defect which must 
cling to us as long as we remain pil- 
grims here below. The objects which 
made us so happy in our childhood are 
no longer able to give us any pleasure. 
Our growth to mature age has com- 
pletely changed us in their regard. 
Where is the man that could now 
spend the day with the playthings of 
his childhood ? Where is the woman 
that could spend her time in dressing 
and adorning a doll ? We are changed, 
and other objects have become neces- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 355 

sary. But, in our mature years, we 
still continue to change, and those ob- 
jects which make us happy to-day, 
may, in a few days, be a source of an- 
noyance to us, and eyen of wretched- 
ness. The changes of the weather, 
our passions, our health, our associa- 
tions, a want of success in our under- 
takings, an unkind word or look — all 
these, and a thousand other things, in- 
fluence us and change our dispositions 
at times so completely, that nothing in 
the whole world can make us feel 
happy. We are disgusted with every- 
thing that only yesterday made us as 
happy as we could expect to be in this 
world. 

So great is our natural fickleness, 
that we are continually exposed to 
change, even in regard to God, and 



356 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

thus lose the only happiness worth 
possessing — His friendship. For, after 
having, in all sincerity, promised and 
even sworn fidelity to Him, we may, at 
any moment, give way to our passions, 
and, like Peter, deny Him ; or, like 
Judas, sell Him for a temporary grati- 
fication. 

This fickleness, which so stubbornly 
clings to us in our present state of ex- 
istence, and which puts an end to so 
many of our joys, is entirely removed 
by our union with God in the Beatific 
Vision. '' We shall be like Him, be- 
cause we shall see him as he is." One 
of the essential attributes of God is 
immutability, or the total absence of 
change, or even of the power to 
change. He is the selfsame forever. 
He is, as St. James beautifully ex- 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 357 

presses it, " The Father of lights, with 
whom there is no change nor shadow 
of alteration."* By our union with 
Him we are '^ made partakers of the 
Divine Nature," and consequently, of 
the divine immutability. Our natural 
fickleness will die in our temporal 
death, never to rise again, and our 
whole nature will be clothed with im- 
mutability, and remain the selfsame 
forever. 

Hence, we shall no longer be tossed 
to and fro by every wind of passion, 
nor by the vicissitudes of present time. 
We shall no longer, as now, be joyful 
one day, and then be cast down and 
sorrowful on the next; in the enjoy- 
ment of perfect health one day, and 
racked with the pangs of disease on 

* James i. 17. 



358 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

the next; enjoying the society of our 
fellow-beings one day, and finding it 
intolerable on the next; overflowing 
now with devotion and the love of 
God, and then ready to abandon His 
service in disgust. We shall become 
immutable, and therefore when mil- 
lions of ages have rolled by, we shall 
still be enjoying the same happiness as 
we did when the vision of God first 
flashed upon our souls. 

2. But there is a second defect which, 
even if we were immutable ourselves, 
would prevent our earthly happiness 
from being permanent, and it is this : 
the objects from which we derive our 
happiness are also subject to change. 
Their beauty fades away; they lose 
their freshness, and along with it the 
power of making us happy. It was 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEX. 359 

this defect which marred the happi- 
ness of Solomon. His position and 
circumstances placed within his reach 
all the pleasures which the heart of 
man can enjoy here below. He was a 
king, a husband, and a father; he was 
filled with a wisdom greater than ever 
was vouchsafed to any other man. He 
built temples and cities ; he was visited 
by kings and queens, admired and al- 
most worshipped as a god, on account 
of the magnificence with which he was 
surrounded ; and yet he was not happy. 
But listen to his own confession, and 
ponder it well : " I heaped together 
for myself silver and gold, and the 
wealth of kings and provinces; . . . and 
I surpassed in riches all that were be- 
fore me in Jerusalem ; my wisdom also 
remained with jne. And whatever mv 



360 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

eyes desired, I refused them not : and 
I withheld not my heart from enjoy- 
ing every pleasure, and delighting it- 
self in all the things I had prepared. 
And when I turned myself to all the 
works which my hands had wrought, 
and the labors wherein I had labored 
in vain, I saw in all things vanity, and 
vexation of mind, and that nothing 
was lasting under the sun." ^ 

Here is the confession of the wisest 
of men — a man who tasted more of 
this world's happiness than any other ; 
and he found it imperfect, and even 
vexatious, because " nothing was last- 
ing under the sun." 

But this is not all. Creatures not 
only change, fade away, and lose their 
power of giving us pleasure, but they 

* Eccl. ii. • 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 361 

may even turn against us, and, after 
having been almost a heaven to us, 
become a very hell, by the afflictions 
and woes they bring upon us. This is 
especially the case if the object of our 
happiness is a human creature. Look 
at the dissensions and quarrels among 
friends and relatives, who once loved 
each other so well. Look at the almost 
incredible number of divorces which 
take place nearly every day. They 
tell us that the happiness which comes 
to us from human creatures is not last- 
ing, because man is mutable. Take 
the virtuous and unfortunate Catherine 
of Aragon as an illustrious example. 
When Henry married her, he certainly 
made her happy at first. But as time 
rolled on, he changed in her regard. 
His love grew cold ; he gradually de- 

31 



362 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

spised her, took away from her the 
title of queen, banished her from his 
presence, and married another woman! 
What a terrible reverse of fortune ! 
He, who at first had been her joy, 
changed and became the cause of her 
deepest sorrow and wretchedness. 

Oh, how differently shall we fare in 
our heavenly home ! For the objects 
of our love there are not mutable, as 
in this w^orld. He who is the very 
source of our exceeding happiness, is 
the eternal, immutable God. When 
He shall have united us to himself, 
and made us ^'partakers of the Divine 
Nature," he never wdll change in our 
regard, tire of us, despise us, and cast 
us aAvay from him, as creatures do. 
No, never, never. The bare thought 
of such a misfortune would spread a 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 363 

shade of gloom on the bright faces of 
the blessed. Once united to Him in 
the Beatific Vision, he will love us 
forever more. Never can there come 
a day when He will frown upon us, 
and make us feel that his love for us 
has grown cold. No, never, never. 
Never will there come a day when 
His divine beauty will fade away, or 
when he will lose his power of making 
us happy, as is the case with the crea- 
tures that now surround us; and there- 
fore we shall never see the day when 
our happiness will change, or cease to 
exist. 

But there is still more. Not only is 
God immutable, and therefore unable 
to change in our regard, but all the 
companions of our bliss have also be- 
come immutable in their love for us. 



364 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

Hence, there never will come a day 
when we shall see ourselves despised 
and even hated by our fellow-creatures, 
as so often happens in this world. All 
those defects which now make us so 
unamiable will be totally removed by 
our union with God, and no one will 
ever see anything in us but what is 
good and deserving of love. From 
this it follows, that even the happiness 
which comes to the blessed from crea- 
tures is permanent — eternal. 

3. Let us now pass to the third de- 
fect of all earthly happiness. Even 
if both we and the objects which make 
us happy were immutable, our blessed- 
ness could not be lasting, because death, 
inexorable death, must eventually tear 
us away from them, or tear them away 
from us. All earthly happiness, glory, 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 365 

and greatness end in death. " And as 
it is appointed unto men once to die/"^ 
it follows that all, both great and small, 
must eventually see the end of all that 
makes life bright and desirable accord- 
ing to nature. All must die, and no 
one can take along with him his glory 
or earthly happiness ; for, as the Holy 
Ghost tells us : " Be thou not afraid, 
when a man shall be made rich, and 
when the glory of his house shall be 
increased. For when he shall die, he 
shall take nothing away ; nor will his 
glory descend with him.'^ f 

Where is now the happiness and the 
glory of those mighty kings and queens 
who were once surrounded with all the 
magnificence of this world ? The grave 
answers : " It is no more." Where is 

* Heb. ix. 27. f Ps. xlviii. 

31* 



366 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

now the glory of those mighty con- 
querors, who placed their supreme hap- 
piness in subjugating nations to their 
sway, in making widows and orphans, 
and in spreading devastation and ruin 
wherever they went ? It is no more ! 
We can say of them, in the words of 
the royal Prophet : '^ I have seen the 
wicked highly exalted, and lifted up 
like the cedars of Libanus. And I 
passed by, and lo ! he was not : and I 
sought him, and his place was not 
found." ^ Death laid its cold hand 
upon them, and put an end to their 
earthl}^ happiness. 

In heaven, that awful death shall be 
no more. We have the word of the 
Living God for it : " And God shall 
wipe away all tears from their eyes: 

^ Ps. xxxvi. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 367 

and death shall be no more, nor mourn- 
ing, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be 
any more, for the former things are 
passed away." * In very deed, " the 
former things have passed away" — 
sorrow, mourning, poverty, labor, the 
vicissitudes of time, temptations to sin 
— all these things have passed away, 
never more to return. The children 
of God have entered into the enjoy- 
ment of their inheritance, which shall 
never be torn from them, because 
" death shall be no more." Never 
shall they see the dawn of a day when 
father and mother must bid farewell — 
a long and sad farewell — to their 
heart-broken children, because '' death 
shall be no more." Nevermore will 
there come a day upon which affection- 

* Apoc. xxi. 



368 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

ate children must print the last kiss 
upon the cold and pallid cheek of their 
dying parents, because '' death shall be 
no more." Never more shall we see 
our kindred and friends slowly de- 
scending into the grave, nor hear the 
cold and cruel clods of earth falling 
upon them, because '^ death shall be no 
more." " Death is swallowed up in 
victory. O death, where is thy vic- 
tory ? O death, where is thy sting ?"'^ 
This is the joyful song of triumph 
which ever resounds through the vaults 
of heaven, because '' The just shall live 
forever more : and their reward is with 
the Lord, and the care of them with the 
Most High. Therefore shall they re- 
ceive a kingdom of glory, and a crown 
of beauty at the hand of the Lord." t 

^ 1 Cor. XV. f Wis. V. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 369 

In conclusion, let me exhort you, 
Christian soul, to meditate often and 
seriously on the happiness of heaven. 
Such meditations, besides deepening 
our knowledge of God, and of the 
things He has prepared for them that 
love him, have a wonderful power of 
detaching our hearts from the transi- 
tory pleasures and honors of this world. 
They, moreover, create in our soul an 
unquenchable thirst for the vision and 
possession of God, while they infuse 
into us a new courage to battle man- 
fully against all the obstacles which 
beset our path in the practice of virtue. 

Such meditations fill us, moreover, 
with a laudable and noble ambition of 
reaching a high degree of union with 
God. This was the ambition of the 
saints, and it should be ours also. It 

Y 



370 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

was this desire of a most intimate 
union with God, that caused them to 
deny themselves even the most inno- 
cent pleasures of this world, and to 
undergo suflferings, the bare recital of 
which makes our poor nature shudder. 
They knew that " our present tribula- 
tion, which is momentary and light, 
worketh for us above measure exceed- 
ingly an eternal weight of glory."* 
Their meditations on eternal truths 
had convinced them " that the suffer- 
ings of this present time are not wor- 
thy to be compared with the glory to 
come, that shall be revealed in us." t 
In the thirty-seventh chapter of her 
life, St. Theresa speaks thus: "I would 
not lose, through any fault of mine, 
the least degree of further enjoyment. 

*2 Cor. iv. 17. f Rom. viii. 18. 



THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 371 

I even go so far as to declare that, if 
the choice were oflfered to me, whether 
I would rather remain subject to all 
the afflictions of the world, even to the 
end of it, and then ascend, by that 
means, to the possession of a little 
more glory in heaven; or else, without 
any affliction at all, enjoy a little less 
glory, I would most willingly accept 
of all the troubles and afflictions for a 
little more enjoyment, that so I might 
understand a little more of the great- 
ness of God; because I see that he 
who understands more of Him, loves 
and praises Him so much the more." 
Here is the ambition of a great saint. 
It is not after crowns or sceptres, or 
the glory of this world, that she sighs, 
but after a single degree of higher en- 
joyment in heaven ; and to obtain that. 



372 THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN. 

she is willing to remain suffering in this 
wretched world till the end of time. 

Let such be your ambition in the 
future. If not in so sublime a degree, 
let it, at least, be directed only to the 
acquisition of "treasures in heaven, 
where neither moth nor rust consume, 
and where thieves do not break 
through and steal."* Labor inces- 
santly for that " inheritance incor- 
ruptible, undefiled, that cannot fade, 
reserved in heaven for you."t ''Be 
faithful until death," says our Lord 
Jesus Christ, "and I will give thee the 
Crown of Life." J 

■5^ Matt. vi. 19. ■ f 1 Pet. i. 4. J Apoc. ii. 10. 



The End. 



